When I Look At You
by Fluffy Nouget
Summary: Beck and Tori are forced to seek out eachother for company when their friends and family desert them for the Memorial Day weekend. Who's to say nothing can happen between two friends over an innocent little holiday hang out? Rating may later change. BxT
1. Friday

_I can't say I'm really big into Victorious, but I definitely feel like Beck and Tori should be given a chance, so here's what a half an hour's worth of boredom produced. I hope I at least got their character traits right, but like I said, I don't watch the show often. Hope you all enjoy and drop a review or two! Thanks, Fluff ~_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or any related characters._

..:..

**_When I Look At You_**

**_Chapter 1 ~ Friday_**

**Beck**

Beck Oliver was seriously bored.

On the Friday before a three day weekend, no less.

How does that happen?

It wasn't his fault everyone was gone away with bigger and better plans for the weekend; Jade being forced to visit her family up North, Cat and Robbie off seeing a concert together, and Andre…well he didn't know what Andre was up to, just that he wasn't even within the city limits.

Groaning, Beck sunk down deeper into his sofa and easily ignored the TV; there wasn't anything good on anyways. He had already watched all the reality show re-runs and practically sucked MTV dry of its musical entertainment.

What was there left to do?

Idly playing with his phone he was surprised when the small cellular device vibrated in his hands, most likely a text message wishing him a happy holiday or some other sentiment. Lazily touching the screen he found that it was a Slap update, the small speech bubble alerting him that one of his friends had recently updated their status. Tapping the link at the bottom of the bubble he was immediately taken to Tori's page, her face gleaming up at him from her hectic profile picture.

"Gee friends and fam, thanks for ditching me for the holiday! I can totally feel the love!" He read out loud, smiling as he got to the last part.

He apparently wasn't the only one left to rot alone over the weekend.

* * *

**Tori**

What to do, what to do, what to do?

She had already circulated all the channels and watched all the movies on FX. She had already taken two naps and a shower even though she hadn't even done anything to need one in the first place.

Tori Vega had pretty much already exhausted her limited resources.

Sighing in boredom she let her head fall back onto the sofa, the TV remote slipping from her hand to land on the floor, the light 'thump' echoing in the spacious living room. Closing her eyes she replayed the day dream she had had in class just yesterday; the one where her and her friends were hanging out all weekend and getting into random stuff over the holiday.

That obviously wasn't going to happen, not when her friends were off on their own small adventures and her parents were away celebrating their anniversary in private.

Even Trina had ditched her to go on an out of town quest for new clothes with her girlfriends.

Now that was just wrong.

Sighing once more, Tori attempted another nap, the quiet demeanor of the house perfect for such an activity.

But if it was such perfect napping conditions then why was she still awake?

Seething in quiet frustration she forced herself from the couch and manually turned off the TV on her way to the kitchen where she pulled her bag from one of the chairs and slipped on a pair of busted up flip flops by the door, fully intending on taking a stroll through town to lessen her boredom. Making sure she had the essentials in her bag, she no sooner than had her hand on the knob of the back door when the doorbell rang, it's chime deafening in the quiet of the house.

Slightly excited at the thought of a visitor, yet annoyed because it could be a vacuum salesman, Tori dragged herself through the living room and over to the door, her face smashing against it to see outside through the peep hole.

Her mouth gaped open in shock.

Undoing the lock with one hand and smoothing her hair out with the other, she opened the door and tried to recompose her face, not wanting to appear rude.

"Beck?" Her voice pitched higher than usual, betraying her composed features.

"Tori." He stated back, stepping forwards slightly to lean on the door frame.

"Hi." She responded stupidly, still shell shocked at his appearance on her front doorstep.

"Hi yourself." A small stare off followed by an awkward silence filled the front passage of the Vega household, neither teen not sure as to what to do next.

"Why don't you come inside?" Tori finally offered, snapping out of her shock and back into her normal mode of behavior. "We're letting the air out!" She added while backing up and allowing Beck into her house for the first time ever.

"Thanks, it's pretty hot out here." He remarked with his hands in his pockets, his gaze slowly taking everything in. Behind him Tori shut the door and slowly walked around him and over to the sofa where she slowly slid down onto the armrest.

"Soooooo….." She started, "what'cha up to?" At this Beck looked at her and smiled, his hand pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"I got your distress call and figured I'd come rescue you."

"Huh?" What was he talking about?

"Your Slap post?" He asked, twisting his phone in his hand as if to reinforce his point.

"Oooooh!" Tori said, realization finally dawning on her. "You're stranded for the weekend too?"

"Yup," Beck said, still taking in his surroundings, "I was kicked to the curb."

"Yeah, I know how you feel."

"Good," He stated, turning to look directly at her now, "we're on the same boat. How about some Fro Yo?" Wow, that took her quick.

"Sure, For Yo me!" Tori said with a shrug, forcing the overwhelming feeling to jump up and down out of her mind.

"Great; I'll drive." Beck smiled, making his way over towards the front door and opening it, his arm motioning for her to go first.

"Ah, such a gentleman!" She joked as she stepped out onto the front porch as Beck shut the door behind them and led them down the small walk through her front yard and to the curb where he had parked his car.

Maybe the weekend wasn't going to be so bad after all?

* * *

**Beck**

"It's not an earth shattering decision, Tori, just pick one."

"No, Beck, it is! Who knows when I'll next be out of that house? I have to make this count!" Beck shook his head and just merely stood next to Tori while she contemplated which frozen yogurt she wanted to have.

He already had his in hand, ordering in a heartbeat as they stepped through the door. Sliding a spoon full of Chocolate Chip Cherry Garcia into his mouth he watched Tori from the corner of his eye as she made a move for the counter, seemingly knowing what she wanted.

"Hey Tim," She said, apparently knowing the guy, "I'll have the usual." She said with her head cocked to side as if she was still uncertain about what to get.

"The usual?" Beck had to ask before sliding another spoon full of the creamy substance into his mouth.

"Yes," Tori said turning to him, "the usual." And with that she turned back around, sliding her money across the counter and telling Tim to keep the change.

"What happened to making this count?" Beck asked, his eyebrow quirked in amusement.

"I dunno," She shrugged back, pulling the spoon from her mouth, "I like my usual so I guess it just overpowered me!" She smiled, closing her eyes as she swallowed another spoonful of the frozen treat.

"Huh, guess I can't say I've never seen someone be bossed around by frozen yogurt before."

"Hey!" Tori said indignantly, following Beck as he led them out of the shop and into the small dining section outside, the tables covered in shade from the multiple marketplace umbrellas wound out to their fullest.

"You'd be bossed around by this too if you got it." Tori stated as she plopped down into chair directly across from the dark haired boy.

"And why is that?" He asked, fixing her with a stare that was practically daring her to prove it to him.

"Because," She said after swallowing another mouthful, "this stuff is the best! Chocolate Fro Yo with caramel and marshmallow and little fudge fish! God it's so good!" She practically moaned as she brought a full spoon up to her mouth.

"Really now?" He teased, though it did look pretty good.

"Yes, Beck, really," She said looking back at him, "here; try some!" She claimed, pushing her small cup across the table towards him, a challenging look about her.

He smiled and reached out with his spoon and took a small helping.

"Make sure you get a fish, too." She said, pushing the cup even closer which only made him smile even more, his aviator sunglasses hopefully hiding the amusement in his eyes. He took the cup from her hand, his cold fingers brushing against hers as he dug around for a fish in the gooey mess of flavors though he figured she didn't notice.

"Alright," He said, holding his full spoon up for her inspection, "I have a fish." She pushed her own sunglasses atop her head and looked closely before giving him the go ahead, a cheesy smile on her face as he slid the spoon in his mouth and chewed for a few considerable seconds.

Nodding, he looked down and over his sunglasses her. "Not too bad, Vega, though I wouldn't make an addiction out of it." He said, knowing full well it'd get her worked up.

"Uh huh," She said simply, pulling her sunglasses back down to hide her face, "you say that now, but wait till you swallow and get that mellow after taste in your mouth….that's when it's really good."

"Oh, so you're the taste police now?" He teased, pushing her cup back to her and watching as she finished her Fro Yo, his already done.

"Yes, and I'm putting under arrest for shotty taste buds!" She exclaimed, playing along with a smile.

"But officer, I didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes, sir you did; you denied the power that is the Tori Usual!" Beck couldn't help but give a small bark of laughter at this and watch as Tori finally finished up and shoved her wad of chocolaty napkins down into the cup. Sitting back in the chair she watched the street for a few seconds before turning to look at Beck, an easy demeanor about her.

He honestly didn't know what to do.

"So…" He started off, not sure as where to go with whatever he was trying to say, something Tori obviously picked up on.

"You can just dump me back at home if you want; I've had my outing for the day." She laughed, leaning back and rubbing her stomach happily.

"Why do that when we can do something else? Going home now would be boring and it's already past dinner time." He stated while also leaning back in his chair and watching the cars pass by.

"Hmmmm," Tori mused from across from him, "are there any good movies playing?"

"Nah," Beck shook his head, "me and Jade have already seen all of them."

"Oh." She said quietly, causing Beck to slightly regret mentioning Jade's name though he didn't quite know why.

"Where's she at this weekend?" She asked casually, easily hiding her eyes behind her sunglasses.

"Her mom forced her up North to see her family, said it'd be good for her."

"Well that's nice." She responded with a shrug and small smile, obviously uncomfortable with the Jade subject.

"How about we rent a movie?" Beck said, quickly and easily changing the topic.

"Works for me!" Tori responded, happily jumping up from her chair and making her way over to the trashcan, Beck not too far behind. Disposing of their items they exited the small outdoor eating area and crossed to the street to Beck's car, Tori stopping him before he could get to the driver's side.

"I think we should switch sunglasses." She stated quickly, her hands held out as if she had just called a time out in a basketball game.

"And why is that?" He felt himself smile as Tori pulled her own magenta framed shades from her face.

"Because yours are so cool and I've always wanted a pair of aviators." She said, pouting slightly with an undeniable set of puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." Beck said, realizing he caved way too easily as he pulled his own sunglasses from his face and swapped with Tori, sliding her much smaller pair onto his face.

She did the same opposite him.

"Do I look Beck-ish now?" She laughed, striking a small pose for him to observe.

"Very me-ish," He confirmed, "now how about me? Do I _Make It Shine_?" He asked, slightly mocking her showcase song.

"Oh yes," She said nodding, "the rhinestones on the side just totally match your dark and brooding manner!" She laughed, walking around to the passenger door and pulling it open, effortlessly sliding in. Beck merely shook his head and slid in behind the wheel, taking his phone out in the process.

"Here." He said, leaning towards the middle and motioning for Tori to do the same. She complied and leaned in, her head angled enough so that it was slightly touching his though he doubt she noticed.

Why was it that only he seemed to notice every little time they touched?

"Happy thoughts!" She laughed before he snapped the picture on his phone, their faces smiling back at them from behind each other's sunglasses.

"Definitely one for the books." He stated matter-of-factly as he started the car and backed out slowly from the parking lot, Tori still laughing from their mini photo shoot.

Beck couldn't help but laugh too.

* * *

**Tori**

Tori couldn't help but glance over at Beck in the next row, his dark gaze focused on the selection of movies before him.

She was way too excited about them hanging for her own good.

He was a taken guy, after all.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she turned away from him and tried to tune her attention to the task at hand; picking a movie. If only she would have waited a few more seconds she would have seen Beck's quick look towards her, a small smile on his features.

But she hadn't.

Running a hand through her hair she smiled as she reached forward and grabbed a DVD box off the shelf, softly calling Beck's name across her shoulder.

She jumped when he spoke from right behind her.

"Yessssss?" He asked, a little too close for comfort.

"I, uh, found this!" Tori sputtered, taking a small step away to distance herself before turning to look at him.

"Ah, _Biggly Bear's Big Bash_; a classic if I do say so myself." He said, nodding in approval.

"No way," Tori smiled, disbelief on her face "you watch _Biggly Bear_?"

"When I can," He responded with a shrug, "Jade's not too into it so I don't get to that often." Was it just her or did Jade seem to be popping up a lot lately throughout their various chitchatting?

"Oh well; her loss." Was all Tori said, brushing the beginnings of an awkward silence away from them with ease.

"What'd you pick?" She asked, pointing down at the DVD in Beck's hand.

"_Vacant Moon_." He responded, a whimsical look on his face that Tori found to be quite cute until she snapped herself out of it and struggled for words.

"I've heard of that," She started, trying to recollect her memory of the film, "it's an Indie flick, right?"

"Very good," He said with a nod, stepping around her though a little too closely, "are we ready to go?"

Was he even noticing all the stuff he was doing to her?

"Uh, yeah…" She said, slowly following him down the aisle of movies and to the counter where the goth girl behind it fixed them with an appraising glare.

"Well you two seem like an odd couple." She commented while scanning their movies.

Tori felt her mouth go dry and didn't know what to say.

"We're not dating," Beck said easily, stepping forward to block the goth's gaze from her, "we're two good friends hanging out and renting movies." He explained simply, a small smile on his face as he paid and collected the DVDs in his hand.

"Whatev." The girl said, picking up her discarded copy of _Rolling Stone_.

"All good?" He asked as he turned Tori, her mind still reeling though she put up a happy front.

"Yeah," She gushed, "let's get out of here!" She smiled, turning directly towards the door; the remnants of a blush on her face as she pushed it open and exited out to the parking lot.

"That was awkward." She said with her hands on her hips a frown on her face as she watched the night life all around her.

"Only because you let it be." He said stepping up beside her, their arms practically touching. Tori swallowed and looked down at her shuffling feet, not sure as to what to do.

"I guess," She eventually said, turning to look at Beck and finding him once again too close for comfort, "silly me!" She laughed, trying hard to get it to sound real.

He just smiled and shook his head.

"So where are we doing it?" He asked, running a hand through his hair and going around to the driver's door.

"Doing what?" Tori quipped, her mind not up to speed.

"Uh, watching movies?" Beck smiled, holding the DVDs up with a 'no duh' expression on his face.

"Oh, yeah, the movies!" Tori laughed weakly, her hand grabbing the door handle, "What size TV you got?"

"I got me a full twenty four inches of distinct viewing pleasure." He said with a quirked eyebrow before sliding down into the car, Tori slowly following his lead.

"Yeah…" She buckled her seat belt, "we'll watch 'em at my house." She nodded, fully aware of Beck's tight living quarters and the limited amount of space to spread out in.

"If you insist." He said with a shrug, backing out of the tiny hole and before setting off for the Vega household. Tori just merely smiled back and hoped to high heavens her excitement and anxiety didn't show in her eyes.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Beck**

He was feeling conflicted…

definitely conflicted.

He didn't know what to do as his eyes focused to the darkness of the living room, the only light from anywhere coming from the snowed out TV screen. Rubbing his eyes Beck tried in vain to look around for a clock, but found none. Deciding to reach for his phone, he attempted to lean forwards but found that couldn't. Wondering what was keeping him in place he looked down to find a sleeping figure using his lap as a pillow.

Tori was out for the count.

And on him, no less.

Smiling drearily he reached down and moved a chunk of hair threatening to fall down into her face from where she slept on her side, her hand in a fist by her face where it laid on his thigh.

She was just too cute for words.

Still playing with her hair he continued to look around for a clock until his eyes fell on the bulge in the back pocket of Tori's jeans. Frowning, he contemplated his next move. He didn't want to wake her up, but he also wanted to know the time, but was it alright pulling her phone from her pocket? Seemingly stuck in between a rock and hard place he froze as Tori shifted on him and rolled over onto her belly, her even breathing signaling her deep state of sleep.

Throwing all fear aside Beck reached for the phone, giving it a small tug and pulling it from the pocket, wondering why he had even been nervous in the first place. Shaking his head, he tapped the screen, causing the small device to light up his face. With foggy eyes he looked around for the time before finding it in the upper right hand corner, 5:53am blinking back at him.

Suppressing a yawn he placed the phone on the small table next to the sofa and sunk down further into the sofa, Tori not moving at his actions. It had been well after one o'clock when he noticed her slumped over on his shoulder, but after that he couldn't remember anything having fallen asleep himself. Looking down at the sleeping girl before him he smiled, his thoughts drifting to everything they had done earlier in the day…well yesterday, actually; it was officially Saturday now.

Everything with her was just so easy, he thought; she didn't question his actions or second guess his words or put him down. She laughed at everything and smiled more than any other person he knew.

He liked who he was around her.

He liked feeling free from ridicule and neglect.

He liked being happy.

"Beck…?" He heard softly, immediately causing him to stop playing with her hair and breaking him from his thoughts.

"Yeah?" He asked back, his voice raspy from the few hours of sleep he had gotten in.

"Are you still here?" He smiled at this and watched as Tori flipped her position until she was on her back, her eyes searching for his face.

"Yep." He stated, refraining from brushing more hair from her face.

"Oh…" She said, sleep still evident in her voice, "what time is it?"

"Almost six."

"Nice." She said, rolling off him and onto the floor, her 'oompf' causing him to laugh slightly.

"And why is being up at six o'clock nice?" He asked as she crawled over his legs and behind the sofa, disappearing from view. Behind him he heard her moving around, apparently hitting something and causing her to release a small curse that thoroughly surprised him, and then a slow scratching noise as she moved something.

Turning in his seat he looked up over the back of the sofa only to have the first rays of the morning sun pelt him in the face.

"Getting up at six is nice because you can see the sunrise." Tori said with a clearer voice, walking back down the steps and flipping over the back of the sofa to fall into place beside him, her eyes trained to the large bay windows.

In a comfortable silence the two teens watched as the sun slowly began to rise above the horizon of the distant mountains, the living room growing brighter with every passing minute.

"See," she said looking over at him with a smile, "it's beautiful."

He just merely shook his head and looked over at her smiling face, her wide eyes reflecting the brilliant rays of orange and yellow that continued to fill the room.

"Yeah," he said softly, "beautiful."

He definitely liked this.

* * *

Hmmmmm...who knows what Saturday will bring? Thanks to anyone who read and are planning on coming back when another chapter is posted. Rating may change in the future, but as of right now, it's still pretty low key...if you catch my drift ;)

Thanks again, Fluffy Nouget~

Review, review, review!


	2. Saturday

_Hey-o! New chapter, here, though I'm not as sure about it as I am the first, but oh well, I'm happy! I guess your reviews and comments will be the real judge, so after reading you know what do! Got it boys and girls! Lemme have it! ~Fluff _

_Thanks for all the awesome reviews I've gotten so far; I honestly didn't expect that many and was so happy upon opening my e-mail; you all are great! _

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or any related things.

**..:..**

**When I Look At You**

**Chapter 2 ~ Saturday**

**Tori**

Watching the sunrise with Beck had been awesome.

Watching him leave wasn't.

But he was coming back—or at least he said he was.

Earlier she made breakfast while he read out Slap updates on their friends; Jade's reading how much she missed him (Tori conveniently coughed at this) while Cat and Robbie were excited about the band they were going to see tonight and Andre's…well his was still blank. Beck theorized different things he could be doing while Tori just nodded and agreed, occasionally offering her own opinion.

After that they had decided to split up for an hour or two and then re-connect at Tori's house with their swimsuits and towels; heading to the beach as their choice activity for the day. Looking at the clock she found that an hour and a half had already passed and made her way downstairs from her room only to be stopped halfway by a text from Trina. Checking the time she found it a miracle that her sister was even awake before noon.

_'hey sista!'_ It read, _'do me a fav and check what size my guccis are kay thanks!' _Rolling her eyes, Tori made her way back up the stairs and texted Beck to let him know that their back door was unlocked and that he could let himself in.

Upstairs, upon entering Trina's room, Tori found the closet door pulled open wide, a sea of shoes spilling out onto the floor. Picking up her phone she called Trina who promptly answered after the first ring.

"Your shoes are everywhere! Which pair am I supposed to for?" Tori exclaimed, kicking a rogue high heel back onto the pile.

"The Gucci ones silly!" Trina laughed with a radio blaring in the background.

"Which ones though? You have like a dozen pairs!"

"Just dig then; they're golden and have little lacey overlays." And with that Trina hung up, her mission of messing with Tori's day complete. Sighing, Tori knelt down on the floor and proceeded to dig, grumbling the whole time as she shifted through the barely worn shoes. So focused on her mission for the Gucci's she never even heard the creaking of the stairs nor the squeak of Trina's bedroom door.

"What'cha doin'?" Came the slow drawl, promptly causing Tori to scream and turn to throw the shoe she had been holding towards the door.

Beck didn't even flinch as it narrowly missed his head.

"Jesus, Beck!" Tori sighed, slumping down onto the floor against the wall and watched as he came further into the room, an easy smile on his face with her sunglasses atop his head.

She forgot that they still had each other's.

"Nice room," He stated while looking around before his gaze fell on the pile of shoes, "a little fancy for just going to the beach, but hey, to each their own." He said with a shrug as if he could care less what Tori wore to the beach.

"I know that," She said, her adrenaline no longer rushing in her veins, "Trina needs me to find a pair of shoes and check the size."

"Oh, so this isn't your room?" Beck asked, leaning against the post of the bed frame.

"Can you honestly see me living in here?" Tori asked with distaste obvious in her voice and features. "Mines right across the hall; go check it out while I look for the Gucci's." She said crawling back over to the pile of shoes to resume her digging. Behind her Beck left as quietly as he came, his soft footsteps going out into the hall to presumably peek into her digs while she continued to mumble incoherent things about Trina's waste of shoes.

"Very nice." He stated upon returning to Trina's room minutes later.

"Oh, well thanks!" Tori said looking up to smile at him as he came to bend down next to her.

"I'll help you look," He said, his hand brushing against hers, causing her to swallow slightly, "what do they look like?"

"Uh…" She struggled to remember what her sister had said, "gold with lace junk all over it." She managed as Beck stood back up and went back out into the hall.

"This one?" He asked, causing her to turn around to see the golden shoe she had thrown at him balanced on his hand and presenting it Vanna White style.

"That's the one!" She smiled, throwing down the shoe in her hand and rising to step forward to take the correct one from him.

"Size seven." She read, tossing it over her shoulder and back onto the pile and pulling out her phone to text Trina with her shoe size.

"Alright," She said, clicking the bedroom door shut, "let's go to the beach!" She exclaimed, causing Beck to laugh and lead them down the stairs where she gathered her things from the sofa and exited the house through the front door.

Going to the beach with Beck definitely made up for digging through Trina's shoe mound.

* * *

**Beck**

"Umbrella?" He asked, looking over at his passenger.

"Check." She smiled, looking back at him.

"Cooler?"

"Check again."

"Snacks_ in_ cooler?"

"Double check; I made sure myself!" Tori exclaimed as her head fell back onto the headrest.

"And did you eat the snacks in the cooler while you were checking it?"

"Nooooooo, I did not!" She laughed back, giving him a playful smack on the arm that wasn't holding the steering wheel.

"Then I'd say we're definitely set for the beach."

"Good because we're here," Tori stated as he pulled into one of the many public access parking lots and killed the engine. Together they got out of the car and gathered their things, Tori handling the blankets and chairs while Beck wielded the cooler and umbrella. Strolling down the small sandy path that led to the actual beach, they stopped and surveyed the coastline, looking for the one ideal spot; a feat that was going to be hard with all the other happy beach goers present.

"Well." She stated, causing Beck to smile and nudge around her, motioning with his head to follow him.

"Watch a pro." He said cockily, trudging through the sand and off to their left where he looked high and low for a spot big enough for them to set up camp before soon finding one and taking off quickly. In the distance he could see a large group of apparent tourists looking for somewhere to park their fanny packs.

That wasn't going to happen.

Picking up his pace he heard the surprised yelp from Tori behind him as he charged forward a few more feet before suddenly dropping the cooler and spiking the umbrella deep into the sand while simultaneously popping it open. The tourists stopped dead in their strides and watched him with steely eyes before turning and going back the way they came.

"Huh," He heard Tori say from behind him, "both effective and scary. It was like watching animal planet almost!" She laughed while dropping the chairs.

"Told you I was a pro." He smiled before reaching over to take a towel from her arms, his fingers lightly grazing her arm in the process and causing her cheeks to darken ever so slightly.

Why did he get some small satisfaction out of that?

Shaking his head he placed the cooler upright and in between them as Tori flipped open the chairs and placed one on either side of the umbrella pole. From there she flopped down into hers and pulled her hair back into a messy bun and secured it off with a hair tie from her wrist, Beck watching the whole thing peripherally from behind her sunglasses. Seconds later she turned to him, not knowing he was already looking at her.

"So what now? We have our spot and our stuff and your mad territory finding skills; are we ready for funnin' and sunnin'?" She asked while burying her feet in the sand, a goofy grin on her face.

"I'd say we are." Beck grinned back, rising from his chair and reaching down to grasp the hem of his shirt and pulling it up and over his head, obviously noting how Tori tried in vain to look away, but still tried to sneak a peek all the same. Still grinning he reached out a hand and offered to help her up, his grin only growing wider as she hesitated before accepting and pulling herself from her chair.

"C'mon!" He said with a jerk of his head towards the water and taking off towards it, looking back once to see if Tori was following, but instead seeing her remove her shirt and shorts to reveal her bathing suit underneath.

After that he forced himself not to look back.

Rushing out past the breaking waves he dove deep into the water, the slightly cold salt water clearing his thoughts and putting things back on track.

He was only hanging out with Tori because Jade and everyone else was gone.

She was keeping him company and fighting off her own boredom at the same time.

She was a good friend who he enjoyed spending time with.

He was in love with Jade…right?

Right?

Diving underneath a wave rolling towards the shore, Beck broke through to the surface and brought a hand to his face to wipe the stinging water from his eyes. Looking left and right he searched for Tori's bobbing head and saw everyone else but her. Turning back to the shore he smiled as he spotted her knee deep in the tide with her hands on her hips her head turning to and fro as she took in her surroundings.

He had to admit he liked what he saw.

Her bathing suit was of good taste and she seemed at ease in her own skin, a fact he found comforting. He could detect a slight farmer's tan on her upper arms and thighs, but was overall pretty evenly tanned compared to Jade's sickly white that he had grown accustomed to, and really, what was wrong with a little color in his life?

Making his way back towards the shore Beck body surfed in on a wave and came to rest at Tori's feet, her smiling face looking down at his flayed out position.

"Awwwww," She laughed, "someone's having fun!" He couldn't help but smile as he struggled to stand against the breaking waves and found himself grabbing her arm for support though her stick like figure moved with the currents anyways.

"Come in with me!" He laughed with her arm still in his grip as he pulled her out into the water.

"Ew! No!" She exclaimed, weakly fighting against him. "I'm not going in that icky water!"

"It's only the international watering hole," He teased, still dragging her along, "you'll be fine!"

"Ew, Beck, no!" She slightly screamed as she broke free from his hold and made a break back to their umbrella. He merely laughed and ran and caught her, his arms encircling her petite waste and dragging her back into the water.

"You'll be fine; if you drown I'll save you!" He laughed, as the water flowed in and swirled around their waists.

"But I have your sunglasses on; what if I lose them?" She exclaimed as she clung tighter to him as he took them out further into the surf and sand swept around their feet

"They were cheap, I can get another pair!"

"Oh my god I think I stepped on a flounder!" Beck laughed at this and slightly loosened his hold, his subconscious wondering what she'd do.

"No you don't buddy! I ain't being swept out to sea!" She quipped while practically jumping back into his arms, her movements causing him to stumble slightly and seemingly fall back into the oncoming wave, the white capped water beating down onto them and sweeping the teens back towards the shore. Underwater he reached around until feeling her hand and grabbing on, liking how it fit into his for that one small second.

He wouldn't mind being swept out to sea if she went with him.

* * *

**Tori **

Gasping and choking for air she crawled her way up the beach only to be knocked down by another wave and another body colliding with hers. Coughing, she tried in vain to roll onto her side but found that whoever had landed on her wasn't moving. Blinking her eyes clear of sand and saltwater she tried once more to flip over only to have a pair of arms reach underneath her arms and heave her to her feet. From behind her Beck laughed as his hands progressed down to her waist and held her still as another wave crashed behind them and knocked them forwards slightly, his hands tightening around her middle.

"Ahhh!" She freaked as something slippery slid around her ankle and made her jump forward, Beck's laughter following her and causing her to laugh slightly also.

"It's seaweed Tori, chill!" She turned and slapped his arm playfully at this and attempted to reach behind her neck to make sure everything was still tied and in place, aware of his eyes the entire time.

"I know it's just….I don't like slimy things!" She reasoned as she kicked at the slimy sea plant as it raced back out to sea in a parting wave. He just continued to laugh and followed her as she made her way back up the beach and to their umbrella, grabbing her towel from her chair before plopping down and leaning her head back to relish in the semi-heat, Beck mimicking her actions.

"At least your sunglasses stayed in place," She said eventually as she reached up and pulled the cheap frames from her face, "here, I'd feel bad if something happened to them." She continued, offering them over to him only to find him shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it; yours are starting to seriously grow on me." He smiled, slipping her frames back on his face, the magenta color even brighter in the sunlight. She laughed and shrugged and put her newly acquired frames back onto her face, her arm falling back down to hang over the side of the chair, inches from the sand.

Slowly she flexed her fingers, the realization that Beck had actually held her hand reeling in her mind; yeah, she had noticed.

"Sooooooo…" She stated, turning her head to lazily look at him to find he was already waiting for her to continue. "How often do you and Jade come here?" She asked, feeling the need to bring up his girlfriend so her mind would stop freaking out over their actions in the water.

"We actually don't come here that often," He stated quietly while still looking at her, "Jade's not one for funnin' and sunnin'." He explained, repeating her words from earlier.

"Oh, well in that case just call me your unofficial beach buddy!" She smiled; glad at the thought that going to the beach with Beck was one up she'd have on Jade.

"Will do." He quietly replied, finally tearing his gaze from her and back out to the ocean.

"Do you come here a lot?" He asked, shifting in his chair so he was more slumped down.

"Usually with Trina and sometimes with Cat and Andre." She said simply, head still lolled back onto the top of the beach chair.

"May I ask what's up between you two?" There was no denying the curiosity in his voice as she raised her head at this.

"Huh?"

"Between you and Andre, if there is anything of course." Why was he refusing to look at her? Leaning forwards she smiled slightly as a sudden thought dawned on her.

"Why would you think anything's up between me and Andre?"

"No reason." He attempted to shrug although her stare was practically drilling holes into him.

"Really now?" She asked with an eyebrow quirked in the air; why'd he want to know anyways then?

"Well just so you know there's nothing going on," She explained gently, leaning back in her chair and crossing her outstretched legs at the ankles, "he's practically like a brother to me. He's actually with his girlfriend this weekend." She said before immediately sitting back up in her chair and smacking her hands across her mouth.

Beck finally looked back over, a knowing smirk on his face.

"You aren't supposed to know that." She said weakly, a frown engulfing her features. He laughed at this and motioned for her to sit back down.

"Your secret is safe with me, I promise." She sighed at this and rubbed her forehead with her hand, her other flopped back over the armrest.

"I feel awful now." She stated with a groan evident in her voice which caused Beck to look over and slowly reach out for her hand.

"Don't worry about it." He said lightly, slowly slipping her hand into his. Slowly she turned her head to look at him though her eyes were trained solely on their hands behind her shield of polarized lenses.

This definitely wasn't good.

"Beck, I…" She started, but just didn't have the heart to make him drop her hand, "thanks. For everything." She finished lamely as he slowly released her fingers but continued to look at her.

"Why thank me now? The weekend's just started." He covered smoothly, pulling his hand back over to his side of the tent pole and laying it on the armrest. Tori just smiled weakly and threw her head back into the chair, the sharp pain overpowering the warm butterfly feeling in her stomach.

She refused to be lulled into Beck's hands weather he wanted her to or not; she was not going to ruin a perfectly good relationship no matter how much she wanted to be with him.

Some things in life were just un-attainable; he just happened to be one of them.

* * *

**Beck**

Was it just him or had things gotten a little weird at the beach?

Well…he kind of did help contribute to that weirdness, so was it his fault?

He did seek out the contact between them, but then again they were good friends.

So what really happened then?

Sighing, Beck sat down on his bed, tossing his shirt off to the side as he leaned his head forwards and into his hands. Rubbing his face roughly he reflected on his day with Tori and how she made him smile and laugh and everything. He grinned vaguely at the memory before being torn from his thoughts by the vibrating of his phone. Reaching back into his pocket and reading the screen he found that it was Jade calling, her sullen picture illuminated on the screen.

What a stark difference between her and Tori.

"Hey." He drawled after answering a few rings later.

"Hey, babe, I miss you." She said immediately, a pout evident in her voice.

"I miss you too." He smiled though not sure how much he really meant it.

"Well Monday we can make up for all our missed time."

"I'll look forward to it then." There it was again; that feeling that made him second guess what he was saying.

"So what have you been up to since I've been gone?"

"Not much; it's only been a day a half since you left." He stated though to him if felt like a lot more.

"I know, it's just that you have to be bored there all by yourself."

"Well I haven't been by myself completely." He admitted while bracing for her reaction.

"Oh really now?" He could actually feel her glare coming through the phone at him.

"Yeah."

"Who's been with you?" He hoped she didn't hear the gulp that accompanied his swallow.

"Well Tori was kind of left here too, so we've hung out some." At this he was met with silence, the only sound coming from the static of the crappy connection.

"Huh." Was all she said after a long while though he could pretty much see her face in his mind; her deathly face being the most prominent.

"Don't have too much fun now." Ouch; the third degree could practically be felt through the wireless connection.

"You know I won't." He replied, trying in vain to convince her that even with Tori he was having a miserable time without her.

"Yeah, well we'll see." And with that she hung up, the steady dial tone replacing the line her voice once occupied.

Sighing once to refresh himself after the minute long phone call, Beck placed his phone back into his pocket and reached to grab his shirt, sliding it on and rising from the bed. Grabbing his car keys from the small kitchen counter on the way out, he locked up behind himself and proceeded to get in his car where he sat for the longest time lost in thought.

Why did he not really feel affected by their small spat, mostly on Jade's part, over the phone? He knew her well enough to know it was just a front she put up to bend him to her will, to make him let her get her way. He constantly fell for it time and time again; when would he learn?

Still mulling these thoughts over, though not as seriously as before, Beck started the car and made way for Tori's house, looking forward to their dinner plans more than he should since his phone conversation with Jade. As he turned onto the main road through town, the quickest shortcut there, his phone vibrated in his pocket once more. Pulling it out he once again saw Jade's sullen face; she couldn't even muster up a smile for him. Dropping the phone into a nearby cup holder he let it ring, knowing full well she'd be sent to voicemail in a mere matter of seconds.

He had plans with a certain someone who always had smiles to spare.

* * *

**Tori **

"Thanks for dinner again." She said lazily, her gaze still stuck on the gleaming stars above.

"You're very welcome; thank you for paying." He replied, his gaze also on the endless sky above.

"Well it was the least I could do since you've been driving me around everywhere; you won't let me pay you for gas." And it was true; she had tried in many various ways to get him to accept the wad of cash she kept presenting to him to cover his gas costs as he continued to commute them around town. She had noted earlier that he had been running low, so of course she offered to pay and of course he denied her, but that was okay; she snatched the dinner ticket right out from under his hand and paid for both the meal and tip.

She was just good like that.

"There's Pegasus." He said, snapping her from her internal victory dance of paying for dinner by raising his hand to point at a constellation above.

"Where?" She asked, turning her head left and right to see. "Since when did you become an astrologer?" Raising her head she looked down towards her feet to see his head pop up and look back at her.

"Since you started paying for twenty two dollar dinners." At this she just stuck out her tongue, scrunching up her eyes in a very immature way that only caused him to laugh as he flopped his head back down onto the hood. Moments later she did the same and went back to stargazing.

After their dinner at an okay Italian restaurant neither one of them had been to, Beck had insisted on driving out into the county to star gaze, though she claimed it was impossible due to ever present city night life; there were no such things as actual stars where they lived.

Yet he proved her wrong.

She was slightly nervous as he pulled off into a random field a few goof miles out of town, but he assured her that his ninja moves were up to date if a threat became apparent. She laughed at this, all traces of her anxiety gone, and hopped up onto the hood where she laid down, Beck doing the same only opposite with his head by her feet; they had been like that every since.

"Twenty two dollars really isn't that bad." She said with a shrug though she doubted he could see the gesture.

"To some, but to others maybe it is." She nodded at his words before smacking at another bug, this time on her arm.

"Stupid insects." She muttered, wiping her hand on her jeans.

"Fight with nature and it shall fight back." Was Beck's semi-cryptic words which she only shook her head at.

"Thank you Ghandi." She stated knowing full well he was smiling without even looking at him.

He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, more then she had ever seen him do.

"There's Gemini." He called out again, his arm pointing back up towards the sky.

"How do you know all this?" She asked, genuinely curious as to when he had learned to identify the wads of stars above them.

"A fine mash up between Discovery channel and Star wars." She couldn't help but laugh at this as his hand dropped back down onto the hood, brushing against her hip in the process.

She tried hard not to make too much of it.

From there their conversation seemingly died and they fell into a comfortable silence as a chorus of crickets filled the now empty space and a few birds sung in the distance, most likely mockingbirds.

"Beck?" She asked eventually, not really sure why.

"Tori." He said back with not even a flinch.

"I was just making sure you were still there." She said, the words only registering as stupid after they left her mouth.

"Did you hear me get up?" He responded a few seconds later with not even a hint of laughter at her statement.

"No."

"Then I'm still here." She smiled at this and turned her head to the side, trying hard to make out his figure in the dark.

"Why did you think I wasn't still here?" He questioned minutes later, taking her slightly by surprise.

"I dunno….we've just never really hung out for more than an hour or two before," She explained with a small blush on her face and thanking god it was dark, "it just seemed a little surreal that we were still…together."

"I kinda like it." He responded almost immediately causing her blood to rush in her veins and her heart rate to speed up.

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"You don't think I'm annoying?" She asked as she remembered all the times Jade had accused her of being so.

"Not at all."

"Well thank you!" She laughed nervously, hoping her wouldn't pick up on her internally giddy emotions. Trying hard to calm herself she turned her gaze back up to the sky and tried to lose herself in their lights, but just simply couldn't.

When ever Beck was around she could never focus on anything or anyone.

"Tori?" She heard him ask moments later, his voice slightly different from before, almost as if he was nervous about whatever it was he wanted to say.

"I'm still here." She justified, a small smile on her face as she just assumed he was going to ask her if she was still there.

"That's great because I have a question for you." Oh, well that slightly threw her.

"Go for it."

"Why'd you help Jade when she wanted to get back together with me?" Wow…that was highly unexpected. Thinking hard about her answer she grew quiet, the various sounds of nature seemingly ten times louder than before.

"I guess she just seemed so pathetic," She admitted, hoping Beck wouldn't get mad at her words, "she was so upset and seemed to genuinely want you back, so I helped her. You two just seemed like a perfect couple that it felt like a waste to let something like that be spoiled so easily."

"You think we're a cute couple?" At this she pulled herself into a sitting a position, so many different words on her tongue all fighting to get out.

Beck sat himself up opposite her.

"I'll probably be walking home after this," she admitted as she easily avoided his gaze in the dark, "but no, I don't think you two are a cute couple."

"Why?" He asked, his voice neutral of any emotion.

"I dunno," She lied, buying time in between her real words and her fake, "she just seems to always boss you around and put you down. Her mood swings are never good and she's just always thinking of herself like she's better than everyone else, but this is just what I see, so plea—" She was immediately cut off mid word as a pair of lips pressed against hers, soft and full.

How he found her face in the dark she had no idea, but god did it feel good.

Feeling her eyes flutter shut she leaned into the hand that had found its way to her cheek and felt herself kiss back, her subconscious screaming at her to stop the whole time, though she was only half way listening until she felt him part her lips with his and suddenly pulled away.

Breathing hard she scrambled off the hood of the car and paced back a forth a few feet from the car. Behind her she heard him slide off the hood and creak the driver door open, the indoor light illuminating their surroundings. Looking up she found him leaning against the car and looking over the top at her, his expression a mix of confusion, pain, and a tad bit of anger.

"I'm sorry!" She immediately gushed, hugging herself against the night air and about to say more until she saw him shake his head and put a finger to his lips.

"It was my fault, don't apologize." He said still shaking his head and still braced against the car for support. She watched as he seemed to internally fight with himself before opening his mouth to say more.

"C'mon," He said nodding at the car, "let's go home." And with that he slid deftly into his seat, the car door closing softly behind him.

Not wanting to be left behind, but also not wanting to be around him, Tori slowly opened the passenger door and climbed in, her eyes on Beck's face the whole time.

Was he mad at her?

Was he mad at himself?

Why'd he kiss her?

Why did she want him to do it again?

What was going on between them?

"Just…just forget it." He said after she closed the door and the interior light flicked off, leaving them once more in darkness.

"Are you okay?" She asked, genuinely concerned about him.

"I should be asking you that." He said, a hint of sadness in his voice as he started the car and started back for town, silence filling the small car.

"Do…do you want to talk about it?" She asked with slim hopes that he would.

"Not really."He replied, refusing to look over at her. She only nodded silently and snuck small, quick glances over at him, his face contorted in a way that told her he was already internally talking about it with himself.

"Can we turn on the radio?" She managed to ask eventually after a decent amount of time had passed and she realized that they hadn't listened to it since they started hanging out yesterday.

"Sure." Was his simple response, his demeanor distinctly lighter from a few miles back. Reaching forward she turned the small knob, the rough chords of a heavy screamo song meeting their ears.

"Nice station…?" She said with a small smile, not really sure what else to say. Looking over she saw him just roll his eyes and reach forwards.

"Jade listens to that stuff," He said while playing with his pre-sets, "I'm more of an Indie and classic rock person myself." With that Beck finally looked over at Tori, an unreadable expression on his face. Not sure what else to do she gave him a gentle smile that only caused him to shake his head.

"You always have smiles to spare." He said quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself.

"Thanks?" She offered, making him realize she had heard.

"Don't worry about it." He said, a ghost of a grin on his face.

"I won't," She said with an eyebrow quirked high in the air as she dug around in her pocket, "if you take my money." A smirk consumed her features as she pushed it towards him only to have him refuse once more.

"Beck…if you take the money we're even…on everything." She explained with a little emphasis on the 'everything' part, making him contemplate her words until he finally sighed.

"Fine," he said taking the wad of bills from her, his fingers lingering against hers that she felt was purposeful, "we're even." And with that he finally smiled, his gaze lingering on her before turning back to the road. She just simply smiled back and watched as the city slowly came back into view, the man made lights twinkling just as brightly as those above. Leaning her head against the glass of the window she allowed her eyes to drift shut, loving how the wind whipped in from Beck's open window and made her fly wild.

If only he knew that he himself gave her that feeling; no windows or wind needed.

* * *

_Sooooooo...whatcha think? Wait, don't tell me, leave it a review/comment! Crazy thought, right? Nah, not really, but it'd be greatly appreciated! :)_


	3. Sunday

_WOW! You guys are really reviewing your little hearts out! I must say that I'm very impressed and so very grateful for your time and reviews/comments; they really mean the world to me! _

_Hopefully this chapter will live up to the others and bring us into the coming week of school where Tori and Beck will have to survive their questioning friends - yeah, I said coming week! We're moving past Memorial Day, boys and girls, how exciting is that? :D_

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or the ever moody looking Avan Jogia...which is really the only reason I watch the show...darn! ;)

**..:..**

**When I Look At You**

**Chapter 3 ~ Sunday**

**Beck**

He was beyond tired.

More like dead if you had to put a feeling to it.

Trying to sleep last night was like trying to cram a shoe that wouldn't fit onto your foot; both uncomfortable and unbearable and made you question your actions. No matter how many different ways you tried to force it on it just wouldn't fit and never would.

Beck had that feeling.

Upon waking up that rainy Sunday morning he found the events of the night before playing heavily on his mind; why did he have to go and ruin his perfectly good 'just friends' relationship with Tori?

When he had asked her whether she thought him and Jade were a cute couple he wasn't surprised by her answer, he was actually expecting it; he just wanted to hear her say it.

And look where that got him.

So overwhelmed by her honesty he felt his attraction towards her double as she blatantly pointed out all the obvious flaws in his and Jade's relationship; he had been waiting a while to hear someone do it and he was glad it was her. She didn't withhold her words and told him what he wanted to hear though she didn't even know it; maybe that's why he felt the need to kiss her.

To see what she would do.

To see if she backed up her words with action.

He smiled to himself as he laid in bed listening to the rain; she didn't disappoint. It was like that day so long ago in Sikowitz's class where they had done the alphabetical improv lesson where she proved she wasn't just all talk and no action. The girl had a mind about her that proved she meant what she said and she said what meant, an uncommon trait in most people.

Still thinking about that day in class, Beck almost jumped at the vibration of his phone on the tiny built-in nightstand next to his bed. Reaching over he found a text from Jade reminding him that only one more day stood between their reunion, a winking smiley face following her words. Why did he feel like that was slightly ominous? Frowning, he texted back with a simple 'I know' and a smiley face of his own in hopes that it'd hold her off until later. From there he dropped the phone lazily into the sheets and went back to thinking.

He was of course still completely conflicted about his weekend escapades; what would their repercussions be, if any? What would happen when Jade finally returned home expecting to see her boyfriend impatiently waiting to see her? Would he even be there waiting?

Frowning, Beck forced himself from bed and pulled on some clothing closet in reach before shuffling out to his tiny kitchen, questions still flying around in his mind.

Some he didn't know the answers to, some he did.

Those were the ones that scared him the most.

* * *

**Tori**

Armed with an umbrella and raincoat Tori sloshed her way through town, silently cursing at her sister the whole time for having taken their shared car without even asking.

But then again who knew she was going to have such an active weekend?

A car really would have helped.

Looking both ways before crossing the street she entered the neighborhood she knew Beck lived in, having remembered it from the many drive bys Jade had performed with Tori in the car during their brief break up.

She felt depressed by just remembering from that alone.

Sighing, she counted the houses as she moved further down the street, the rain providing a nice, relaxing backdrop for her thoughts; she seemed to be thinking a lot lately, namely after last night.

Trying to sleep after her and Beck's latest outing hadn't been easy; it was more like a nightmare, really. She'd fall asleep only to be awakened moments later thinking Jade was trying to break in and beat her to a pulp when only it was the settling of the house or the wind in the trees outside.

It was horrible.

What was even worse was the fact the few hours she did get to sleep were cut short by the rising sun breaking in through her windows and forcing her from her bed and down into the living room where she dozed for a few more hours until she just couldn't sleep anymore.

From there she made breakfast where halfway through scrambling eggs and frying bacon she realized how lonely it would be eating alone and made a rare split second decision; she was going to take breakfast to Beck.

He never texted or called her once after dropping her off somewhere around midnight and had since remained silent. She didn't know if confronting him would fix anything or make matters worse, but there was only one way to find out.

Chopping the bacon into a mess of tiny bits and throwing some cheese into the pan of eggs she managed to scratch up a breakfast casserole of sorts which she then dumped into a large bowl that she placed in the microwave to keep warm while she slipped on some rain boots and grabbed and umbrella from the closet. Grabbing the bowel on the way out the door she walked confidently with her head held high; things were _not_ going to be awkward between her and Beck.

But now that she had finally reached his RV parked in his parent's driveway she felt that confidence slip slightly. Standing there in the rain with the umbrella vibrating her hand as rain continued to pelt down on it upon it she contemplated her next move. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea? Should she just turn around and go back? Kicking idly at the puddle she stood in Tori felt herself become conflicted as she stared at the silver recreational vehicle. She definitely didn't want things to be awkward, but then again feared that showing up unannounced on his doorstep would be weird and uncalled for.

Biting her lip as the rain slightly picked up she forced herself forward towards the rounded off side door lined with patio lights. Reaching up to knock she swallowed all traces of fear and smiled slightly. Somehow she knew Beck wouldn't be mad; somehow she knew it was going to be alright.

She could just read him that way.

* * *

**Beck**

It was hard to hear through the pounding rain, even with the TV turned up louder than usual. Experiencing rainstorms while living in an RV was the one thing he wished he could change; they were both annoying and slightly depressing. Who wanted to sit alone in a hunk of metal while rain poured down outside?

Rubbing his eyes he pulled himself from the sofa and crossed over to his small kitchen-like area, swiping his coffee mug off the arm of the couch on the way. Pouring a fresh cup he looked up in time to see a dark pink umbrella pass by his window, its holder hidden underneath. Moments later a low beating sounding on the door and caused him to hurry over and open it against the hurricane like winds.

"Gooood morning!" Tori tried to sing though her cheeriness was seemingly dampened by the rain that blew in underneath her umbrella. Beck shook his head and stepped aside, trying hard to hide his amusement as Tori attempted to close the umbrella and balance a bowl in her arm while trying to step inside at the same time. Finally releasing his laughter he grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, taking her umbrella with the other and snapping it shut in seconds. Closing the door behind him he turned and took in her washed out appearance while she attempted to run a hand through her frizzing hair.

"Raining out?" He asked as he stepped around her to retrieve his coffee cup, a small smile playing on his features.

"No, it's sunny and hot," She replied, sarcasm evident in her voice as she still tried in vain to fix her appearance, but to no avail, "here." She said while working out a knot in her hair and thrusting the bowl at him. Quirking an eyebrow he collected it from her hand and popped open the lid, the aroma of breakfast filling his small living quarter.

"Food. Nice." He stated while taking another deep breath of freshly cooked food .

"Oh, well, your welcome!" She said shrugging, still trying to un-stick her clothes from her body.

"Do you want a towel?" He asked while pulling down a set of plates from an above cabinet, smiling at her actions.

"A towel would be helpful!" She laughed, looking up at him to smile, causing him to laugh at her pathetic form and disappear for a few seconds until returning with a clean towel and handing it off to her.

"Thanks."

"No prob," He said, dishing out her breakfast casserole onto two plates, "but can I ask why you brought breakfast even though it's already noon?"

"Oh…well…I, uh, it was…" She struggled, not really wanting to admit that she missed his presence.

"Lonely?" He filled in, fixing her with a knowing look which only caused her to blush.

"Yeah." She sighed, the redness spreading on her features.

"Me too." He smiled, handing her a plate and motioning her over to his small table.

"I don't want to get your cushions wet." She said as she tried to put the towel underneath her as padding only to be stopped by half way by Beck's hand on her arm.

"Don't worry about it; they'll dry." And with that he sat down opposite her where they ate in silence and he occasionally commented on her cooking skills and they chit chatted on a wide variety of random subjects that somehow made their way into their thoughts. Twenty minutes later the food was gone and they found themselves staring at each other, not quite sure as to what to do next.

"Sooooo…" Tori started as she pushed a rogue bacon bit around on her plate and hugged herself.

"Are you cold?" He asked, a hint of humor in his voice.

"Well usually when you're soaked you get cold." She stated with a shrug as he pulled her plate away from her and dropped it in the small sink. From there he disappeared for a few moments and re-emerged with a pair of black sweats and a long sleeve sweater.

"Here," He said flopping them down onto the table in front of her, "the bathroom's that way." He said nodding his head back behind him and trying not to laugh at her shocked face. She got up slowly, the whole time avoiding his gaze as she trudged down the narrow hall and into his tiny bathroom where he could hear her arms and legs hitting the walls in the miniscule compartment. Sinking down onto the sofa he turned the TV up louder and almost jumped when he looked and saw her standing there looking smaller than ever in his clothes.

"I think I remember this," She stated as she pulled a black and white striped sleeve down over her hand, "you wore this when we, uh, met again on, in, uh, Sikowitz's class." She struggled though he immediately knew what she was trying to avoid; he had worn the same shirt when they had kissed during the improv lesson.

"Yup…that's my favorite actually." He stated, pointing at it from where he sat and causing Tori to look up and grin.

"Aw, Beck has favorite clothes! That's so manly!" She laughed as she crossed in front of him and dropped down onto the sofa next him with a healthy distance between them.

"I like to look stylish, thank you." He stated matter of factly which only made her quirk an eyebrow.

"Really? So the whole dark and brooding clothing thing is just a statement?" She said, pulling her knees up to her chest and leaning against them, waiting for his response.

"Yes, they are," He said turning directly towards her, "they show both my individuality and good taste." She smiled at this and shook her head.

"You are creative and deep." She said, her words making him think back to when she had needed to decorate her locker for school.

"It's who I am." He stated with a wave of his hands as he watched her laugh and slump over slightly in his direction, her eyes wandering towards the TV screen. From there he glanced at her frequently, taking in her silhouette and features before slowly raising an arm lie across the back of the sofa in an oh-so innocent manner.

"Are you really that cold?" He asked with genuine concern, pulling her attention from the show in front of them after noticing her shivering limbs.

"I'm good." She said, her voice pitching higher than usual like it usually did when she was lying.

"Are you sure?" He drawled, nodding his head at the empty space right beside him and grinning slightly. She looked at him for a long while until finally sighing and moving closer to him, his body heat immediately penetrating her clothes and soaking into her shaking joints as she curled up as close as she could into his side. Smiling, Beck brought his arm atop the sofa down to wrap around her hunched up form and around her middle where he forced his hand to stay still. A few moments later after Tori had properly situated herself he leaned down slightly to try and see her face behind her curtain of hair.

"Better?" He asked as he brushed it aside, his fingertips grazing the frozen tip of her ear and making him realize that she really was cold and not just putting on show. Smiling at her frantic nodding that signaled she was indeed feeling better he slumped down further into the sofa, his arm taking her with him though she didn't seem to mind. Forcing his gaze back to the TV he still felt himself smiling slightly as Tori began to shiver less in his hold as her body temperature began to return to normal.

Jade would have played cold rather than actually being cold; she would have manipulated him and talked him into getting what she wanted.

And Tori…well…he just liked the reality of life with her; it was just so much easier.

* * *

**Tori**

What was that noise?

It wasn't the rain...rain doesn't growl.

Listening hard to the TV set in front of her, Tori realized that the small growling noise wasn't coming from the reality show she was watching either, but something else. Squinting her eyes in the growing darkness of the RV, she looked everywhere for the noise until realizing it was coming from directly beside her.

Beck had fallen asleep; his head laid out flat on the back of the sofa and his arm still latched around her waist, his wide open mouth only emphasizing his rough snores.

"Awwwww…" She smiled, not able to refrain herself as she reached up and ran her fingers lightly through his hair and away from his eyes; he was just too cute.

How did she not notice him falling asleep? He was right next to her after all; he had been for the past…how many hours? Realizing she had lost track of the time due to her fascination with the reality show marathon on TV she reached over and plucked her phone from a cup holder, the screen lighting up at her touch. Blinking against the brightness she found that a good five hours had passed since she first arrived and had breakfast for lunch with Beck.

How had five hours passed between them with only a handful of spoken words?

Looking back at Beck she found him still asleep and completely un-moved, his face still relaxed with the unconsciousness of sleep. Running a hand through her hair and looking back at the TV she realized that the show she had been watching earlier wasn't on despite the fact it had been a marathon.

What was going on?

Cocking her head to the side in thought she suddenly realized that she too had fallen asleep; and right next to Beck, no less! Smacking a hand against her face in disbelief she groaned and fell back against the sofa, her actions shifting the cushions and Beck's sleeping form. Why did she always seem to fall asleep on him? Rolling her head to the left she became face to face with the boy beside her, his face mere inches from her; all she'd need to do would be stretch across and her lips would meet his in another kiss.

But that wasn't going to happen no matter how much she wanted it too.

She had to go, to leave, to just stop fooling herself that maybe someday they'd be together.

Groaning once again Tori attempted to move from her position on the couch, her fingers softly prying away the arm that had snaked itself around her waist, but to no avail; the boy had a serious grip.

Trying a bit harder she jumped at the sudden vibrating from the cup holder where she knew his phone to be and reached over quickly to silence it's deafening roar in the otherwise quiet space. Lifting it quickly the small device slipped in her fingers, the screen lighting up and the incoming text message appearing on the screen. She didn't want to be nosy but also couldn't help herself as she squinted at the screen, the ID picture of the person texting Beck looking oddly familiar.

With a small scream of realization she shot forwards only to be locked into place by Beck's arm which caused her to nose dive to the floor where a pain filled grunt was ground out through clenched teeth.

"Torrriiiiii…?" Beck asked while yawning slightly and moving to get up, only to be tripped by the half of Tori that was still on the sofa and promptly falling down on top of her.

"Oh my god!" Tori yelped as he tried in vain to roll off of her in the small space crammed with flailing limbs, "Beck you need to move! I have to go!" She exclaimed as she fought against him until finally managing to push him away and pull herself to a semi standing position by means of the TV cabinet.

He looked up warily at her from the floor, sleep and confusion evident on his face.

"I don't unders—"

"There's no time, I just have to go!" She exclaimed, flinging his phone at him upon realizing it was still in her grasp as she made a break for the bathroom to collect her slightly damp clothes.

"I didn't mean to read it, it was an accident!" She continued to gush as she collected her bowl from the sink and struggled to slip her rain boots back on.

"What?"

"Your phone!" She said quickly, "It started vibrating and I went to move it but it lit up and I saw it was Jade texting you and couldn't help but read it and she's going to be here any minute meaning I'm going to be totally dead if she walks in here and I'm here and she thinks we're up to someth—"

"Tori, it's alright, just breathe!" He said cutting her off mid-freak out, "It's alright, Jade will never know you were here."

"But I have your clothes on!" She exclaimed, still struggling with a boot.

"Just bring 'em back later," He said pushing away her hands and fixing her boot so her foot would slip down inside where it was supposed to go, "it's no problem."

"I just don't want to get you in trouble and make her thi—"

"Tori!" He laughed, pulling her from her stooped position and guiding her to the door where he calmly picked up her umbrella and handed it to her where she practically ripped it from his hold and charged for the door. "You need to calm down."

"You're right," She sighed, rubbing a hand across her face, "It's just I know how Jade is around me and we already have some kind of weird friendship thing going on and I don't want to ruin it."

"You're not going to ruin it and Jade's not going to be mad."

"Well I still don't want to get you in trouble." She admitted, not meeting his eye and opting to play with her umbrella handle.

"Jade doesn't dictate who I can and can't hang out with when she abandons me for the weekend; I do. I chose you for company because you were in the same boat and she'll just have to deal with it." Tori looked up at this and smiled slightly though she was still internally freaking out about Jade walking in and finding them together.

"You're right," She said while nodding, "but can I still run away as quickly as possible?" She asked, her smile brightening as Beck just shook his head and smiled too.

"I don't see why not." He said as he finally opened the door and held her arm as she stepped down the small metal stairs and out into the driveway.

"Well," She sighed, turning to look at him one last time before making a break for home, "thanks for the company; it was by the far the best Memorial Day weekend I've ever had." She smiled once again, hoping her false happiness would outshine her budding disappointment that she'd never again have Beck to herself for a whole weekend.

"You're very welcome," He smiled back, though she could obviously tell he wasn't as good as hiding his emotions as her, "see ya on Tuesday." And with that he shut the door, her gaze never leaving his until the small click of the latch echoed across the water logged yard.

Smiling slightly she shook her head as she trudged her way through the now misting rain and set off for home, avoiding any main roads that Jade would likely drive down in her impatience to get to the silver RV that much quicker.

Why did it seem like he didn't want her to leave?

Could it be he felt that small spark of something between them too or was it just her adrenaline pumped brain playing tricks on her?

If it was the latter then that's just plain rude.

* * *

_Oooo, Tori, that was close! :)_

_Hopefully you guys will love this and continue submitting those awesome reviews/comments that I love to see! Infinite hugs and kisses, Fluffy ;)_


	4. Monday

Sorry this one took a bit; it's been hectic week between getting ready for the beach and getting college lined up. I hope you enjoy and thanks for all the awesome reviews and comments, you guys are just flippin' amazing! Much love, Fluff

_Disclaimer: I don not own Victorious or the quite fetching Avan Jogia...darn!_

**..:..**

**When I Look At You**

**Chapter 4 ~ Monday**

**Tori**

She never thought she'd be so happy to have her family back, but then again she had been experiencing a whole lot of new things lately.

Beck, for example, just to name one.

Namely her weekend with him, but she couldn't dwell on that; it just wasn't healthy.

Sunk down into the comfort of her bed she didn't even notice her door creak open with a subtlety only her mom could have possessed. It wasn't until she sat down on the end of the bed that Tori even noticed someone was in her personal space wanting to talk. Grabbing the remote from the small nightstand she turned down her small TV and forced herself into a semi-sitting position and gave a small smile to her parent.

"Glad to see you survived the weekend," her mom started with a small laugh, "I just thought I'd see if you needed anything; you've been awfully quiet since we got back." Tori just continued to smile and shook her head; was her pouty mood really that noticeable?

Her parents had only been home for three hours now, did they gain ESP while away for their anniversary?

"I'm fine, mom," Tori lied easily as she pulled her knees up to her chest to hug tightly, "I just stayed up too late, there was Biggly Bear Marathon on last night." She went on to explain, knowing full well her mother would completely by it; she didn't disappoint.

"God knows you love watching whatever that things is," She laughed with a shake of her head before rising after a pat to Tori's leg, "I'll let ya catch up on some sleep." And just like that she was gone, the only evidence of her presence being the indent in the blankets at the foot of the bed. Groaning, Tori slumped back down in her bed and pulled the cover up over her head like she used to when a thunderstorm would strike in the middle of the night.

She'd gladly go stand out in one right now if it meant not having to lie about her feelings.

This depression thing just didn't work for her; life was supposed to be lived to the fullest, not to the most secretive.

* * *

**Beck**

"I'm thirsty; get me a drink."

"The fridge is right there."

"I don't care, go get me one." Beck shook his head and hid his frown as he rose from the couch and crossed over to the tiny mini fridge, pulling the door open and grabbing a bottle of water from the shelf.

"What's the magic word?" He asked over his shoulder only to be glared at with Jade's dark eyes.

"I don't want water." She stated before turning back to the TV and stretching out further on the sofa, her legs taking occupancy in his vacated spot. Shaking his head Beck put the bottle back in the fridge and crossed back over to the sofa where he lifted Jade's feet in order to sit down and then let them fall back onto his lap.

She looked up at him, her face incredulous.

"Where's my drink?" He felt himself shrug because he knew it'd just make her more agitated.

"It's hard to get something when you don't know what you're getting." At this Jade took a deep breath and slapped a hand over her face, clearly trying to control herself; talk about a drama queen.

While she collected herself Beck turned his gaze back to the TV and tried to appear as though he was actually watching it despite the fact his mind was completely elsewhere. Jade had been a constant since Sunday night when she arrived only twenty minutes after Tori left; they had cut it pretty close. Since then Jade had bitched and complained about anything and everything, obviously unchanged from her weekend surrounded by family.

It was safe to say she single handedly shattered the best weekend he ever had…she would just never find out.

"God Beck, are you even listening to me? I said I wanted tea, don't you have any?" Looking back over at his girlfriend Beck found her sitting up, her hands raised in a 'what the hell' gesture.

"I have water and lemonade. Take it or leave it." He said with a shake of the head and a small, forced smile. Jade practically hissed at this and shoved him slightly as she forced herself from the couch and charged for the bathroom, the door slamming in its plastic frame.

Rubbing a hand over his face Beck slumped down deeper into the sofa, a soft groan escaping his lips.

Why couldn't life have a rewind button?

* * *

**Tori **

"And I got these at Barrin—"

"Uh huh." Tori could have cared less about Trina's latest shopping spree.

"Oh! And this pair at Fra—"

"Vey nice." And her shoes.

"These were a grea—"

"Uh huh." And her entire weekend, even; the girl just never knew when to shut up.

From her vantage point atop her bed Tori could easily survey the contents of Trina's weekend in one sweeping gaze. Ever since her sister had arrived home only an hour ago she had insisted on showing off her new found Memorial Day deals. Their parents had grown bored in fifteen minutes where they then sent Trina up to Tori's room, figuring sisterly bonding could never hurt.

How wrong they were.

After a five minute yelling match about invasion of privacy and wrestling to open and shut the door, Tori had called a cease fire and allowed Trina in, her bags seemingly puking all over her bedroom floor. From there Trina went on to tell the not-so exciting tales of how she acquired each item.

Tori was bored in the first three seconds.

"Uh huh." Tori said for what felt like the thousandth time; she found that whenever Trina looked at her with a smile and wide eyes that this simple phrase would make her laugh and nod vigorously despite the fact that Tori was barely even paying attention.

Trina was cutting in on her Real World marathon; she'd pay in a day or two.

The simple TV show seemed to be the only thing that kept her anchored to reality, to prove to her that anyone could have had a weekend such as hers and maybe even such a sister.

Nah…she was pretty sure Trina was God's practical joke on their family tree.

* * *

**Beck**

Talk about being a punching bag; and for reality no less.

After Jade's blow up over the drink incident she had insisted on going out to get Fro Yo; they didn't have any up North and she was dying to get some. Beck assumed the role of driver despite the fact that Jade had to move her car so he could get his out of the driveway, but it made her happy, so why not?

He couldn't handle a second blow up.

The drive into town was quiet as usual only this time it was awkward, uncomfortable even. Quickly stealing a glance at his passenger, Beck watched with quiet exasperation as Jade fiddled with his radio.

"You know I hate it when you change the station; I can't stand that depressing crap you listen to." She complained as she tuned it on a scream-o station before leaning back in her seat and relishing in the ripping guitar runs and indistinguishable words.

"Well it is my car." Beck stated, shaking his head as he watched the road before him.

"But you know I hate that Indie stuff."

"Well you weren't around over the weekend; I listened to what I liked." He defended himself despite the fact that Jade was practically fluffing up like a cat under attack.

"Well you should have changed it back; you knew I was coming home." She stated matter-of-factly, her glare focused out the window as he frowned quietly and tightened his grip on the wheel.

Silence once again bubbled up into the interior of the car where it lasted until he pulled into the parking lot of the yogurt place and killed the ignition. Jade gave him the cold shoulder as she exited the car and crossed the street, not even waiting for Beck as she cut through the outdoor eating area and went ahead inside. Trying hard to control himself, the dark haired boy followed her path of simmering anger and upon entering the store found that she already ordered; her cup in hand and the spoon already in her mouth.

"You're paying." She stated as she passed by him on her way back out to get a table in the shade. Shaking his head Beck pulled out his wallet and stepped up to the counter.

"Hey Tim," He greeted with a nod; it was the same guy that had been there on Friday, "can I get that thing Tori gets?"

"She comes up with some pretty good combos, eh?" Tim smiled as Beck handed over a bill and shoved the change into his pocket as he watched the older gentleman make Tori's usual. He accepted the cup with a nod of thanks and made his way out to join Jade with the hopes that she was completely bitched out for the day; he was starting to get tired of her mood swings.

"Ew," She said making a face upon seeing him sit down, "what is that?"

"The usual." He smiled back widely as he slipped Tori's sunglasses down over his eyes and watched in silent amusement as Jade's glare practically melted the Fro Yo before her.

He wasn't going to let her have everything.

* * *

*****So this one was a little short and had a bit more Beck to it than Tori; it's mainly a set up for Tuesday and to see what life with Jade is like. I don't think I quite got Jade right, but that's okay, I don't really like her that much :P

Anywho, reviews and comments are always appreciated and loved, so get to it! Go! Now! ~ Fluff ;)


	5. Tuesday

_Ahhhhh! College life! Talk about a reality check! Super sorry for this very suckish update and sort-ish chapter, but just hear this now: UPDATES ARE GOING TO TAKE LONGER NOW THAT CLASSES HAVE STARTED! PLEASE BE PATIENT AND I'M SORRY FOR ANY FUTURE LONG DELAYS!_

You're comments and reviews are as always greatly apprecitaed and wanted! Thanks to all who are still hanging in there with me and my crappy updates; you're all very understanding and greatly valued! 

**Disclaimer: Do not Victorious, blah, blah, blah, HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

**..:..**

**When I Look At You**

**Chapter 5 ~ Tuesday**

**Tori**

Waking up for school on Tuesday morning, Tori Vega flowed through her usual routine of early morning procedures before stopping suddenly half way through the front door.

Trina yelled out from behind her and shoved her way around, grumbling about her sister the whole way in her conquest for their car, but Tori could have cared less.

She was going to see Beck today.

And Jade.

But mostly Beck.

She smiled at the thought of him then frowned as Jade bubbled her way back up.

The girl just couldn't stay down.

Snapping herself out of her daze Tori had to practically sprint down the front walk as Trina started the car and proceeded to back out, fully intending on leaving Tori behind.

Jade wasn't the only one who couldn't stay down.

* * *

**Beck**

How long had he been sitting in the car?

How long was Jade going to make him wait?

Could he just leave her?

He cocked his in thought before deciding against it; leaving Jade without a ride was the quickest way to a PDV.

A Public Display of Violence.

He was currently on her good side and would hate for all his ass kissing to go to waste. Ever since their Fro Yo outing yesterday and then their serious make out session – her doings, not his – he had been in her good graces for the rest of the evening.

And that was practically an Oylmpic sport in itself.

Reaching out to adjust his rear view mirror he caught a fleeting glimpse of his reflection and smiled as he reached up to finger the maroon colored shades atop his head.

Hopefully Tori would have some smiles to spare today.

* * *

**Tori**

Books slamming into place inside the locker easily drowned out her gentle humming as Tori continued to stack her weekend assignments back into their proper places. It wasn't until she was finished and clicked shut her locker that she saw Andre's beaming smile and mischevious look.

How had she missed him standing there?

"Hey!" She smiled, slinging her bag over her shoulder to give him a quick hug, "How was your weekend?" He merely shook his head and hugged her back.

"I never made it."

"What? Why?" Andre merely laughed at the evident shock on her face.

"Nina's grandma ended up in the hospital, so we agreed to hook up later."

"Aw, well I'm really sorry; I know you were looking forward to spending time together." Andre just shrugged and looked around, almost as if looking for someone.

"It's all cool; we both understood what needed to be done."

"Oh…" Tori wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so instead gave him a small smack on the arm, "If you were here all weekend then why didn't you call? We could have done something!" At this Andre stopped looking around and fixed her with a Cheshire grin.

She felt her eyebrow rise in confusion.

"Well I would have called," the boy next to her started, "but it seemed like you got on just fine without me." His smile only grew wider as Tori's confusion grew larger.

"Huh?" She found herself asking dumbly, clearly not understanding his words which only caused him to laugh more.

"Here," He said quickly, his hand plunging down into his pocket to grab his phone, "you'll like this!" She watched as he quickly messed around with the screen before thrusting the small device right in her face, her eyes taking a few seconds to adjust to image before her.

She felt her throat go dry.

"How'd you get that…?" She asked quietly, her wide eyes glued to the screen.

"I see things." Was his smart ass response.

In pixilated glory right before her was a picture of her and Beck at the beach, his arms around her middle and holding her in place as a wave crashed behind them. They were both laughing and smiling, their actions far more intimate looking than they should for two simple friends.

"I think this one is my favorite!" Andre smiled as he pulled the phone away to scroll to another photo before presenting it back to her face.

This one was of them at the movie place where they were getting DVDs to watch. Tori was in her own aisle while Beck was in his, though instead of looking at movies, he was looking up at her from across the top of the rack, a large smile on his face.

She swallowed hard.

"So when were you two going to tell me you two hooked up? And when did Jade dump him?" Andre asked smugly as he pulled the phone away once more to tamper with the screen.

Tori blinked a few times before regaining her senses and looking up to find Andre still distracted by his phone.

"She didn't…" Tori said evenly, her voice causing Andre to quickly look back up.

"She didn't?"

"No." Tori shook her head.

"…oh…" The shock couldn't have been clearer on his face.

"Yeah."

"So you two…?"

"Yes."

"No.

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No! You two were together the whole weekend and she didn't even know?" Tori smacked her face in frustration before slumping back into her locker, Andre's incredulous look glued to her.

"Jade was gone for the weekend so Beck sought me out and we hung out. It's no big deal." She seemingly tried to convince herself.

"No big deal? Girl you wanna see these pictures again?" His hand moving once more for his pocket caused Tori's arm to shoot out and grab his wrist, her blood suddenly pumping in her veins.

"No, no!" She practically whispered. "I saw them just fine the first time!"

"You in some deep doo doo if Jade ever finds out."

"No, really?"

"Hey, I'm just watching out for you; I really don't want to attend your funeral at such a young age!" Tori smiled weakly but even Andre's playful teasing couldn't keep the fear from rising inside her. Sighing, she allowed her head to fall back against the locker and closed her eyes in concentration.

This whole thing was really just nothing; her and Beck were just two friends who hung out over the weekend.

Simple as that.

End of story.

No sequels planned.

"I do really like the beach one, too, though." Andre said, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked up incredulously at him though he just merely shrugged, his phone once again in his hand. She was about to say something to him as he flipped to the next one when a sight beyond his shoulder made her freeze.

"What beach one?" Jade asked as she stepped up behind the unsuspecting boy and Beck smiled at her from even farther behind.

Tori's wide gaze briefly met Andre's and the two just stared at each other, neither moving an inch. It wasn't until Jade tried to reach around and grab his phone that Tori finally functioned and reached out and snatched it before the other girl's pasty hand could even make contact. Whirling around on the spot she made a break for the main door, Andre's fumbling footsteps sounding a few feet behind.

She was definitely getting her morning workout.

* * *

**Beck**

Something was obviously up.

Tori and Andre were acting weird, or at least more so than usual.

Each avoided him like he was the sole carrier of the Black Plague.

They even gave Jade a wider berth than usual.

Yeah…something was up.

And cornering Andre in the library was probably the best time to find out why; especially when he was only an aisle over.

"Hey man!" Beck greeted as he rounded the end corner and caught the unsuspecting boy.

"Oh, Beck, hey!" Andre nodded, his voice pitched a few octaves higher; the sure sign that he was under distress.

"What'cha up to?" Beck asked oh-so casually as he leaned onto the shelf, effectively blocking the dread-locked boy's exit.

"Uh, nothing much. Getting some books for a research paper, that sort of stuff. You?"

"Just browsing, seeing what kind of new facts I can learn." Beck shrugged, his cool demeanor obviously getting the best of his friend.

"New facts, huh? Didn't pin you as one of those 'did you know…' kind of guys."

"I'm not really, I just like being in the loop so to speak; like to be up on current events."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"How current?"

"Very current." Andre considerably gulped at this.

"And what you consider 'very current'?"

"This morning."

"Oh, really? What happened this morning?"

"I think you know; you _were_ the one running away from me." Beck continued with another shrug, acting as if he could have really cared less.

"Oh!" Andre laughed suddenly, his body jerking in a way that was too animated to be real, "I had to go, cause my, uh, lunch was in, uh, Tori's car. I forgot it, so we ran together to get it. It's tuna day!" He laughed once more, his dreads bouncing with his movements.

"Oh really?" Beck asked, fake surprise evident in his voice as Andre just bobbed around in front of him.

He found it odd that for as long as he had known Andre the boy had never really lied or kept anything from him. The young musician really was a valued friend who Beck often sought out when he wanted some manly time or even a breather from Jade, but how he was acting now, all secretive and worked up, well that just wasn't him.

Whatever he didn't want Beck to know must have been big.

"Yeah, tuna day; gotta love them fish!" Beck smiled once more before finally deciding that flat out honesty was probably going to work the best; it always had in the past.

"Andre what's going on?" The boy across from him ceased all movements and averted his gaze to the floor, embarrassment evident on his face.

"Sorry man, but I'm doing what I think's best for everyone."

"What do you mean?"

"Here." Beck watched as Andre retrieved his phone and clicked around before showing him the screen, a picture of him and Tori at the beach making his insides heat up.

"How…" He asked before trailing off, his eyes still glued to the screen, "weren't you out of town this weekend?"

"My plans were cancelled."

"I know you have a secret girlfriend." He felt himself blurt before looking up to see Andre's shocked face.

"Dang it!" The other boy sighed as he shook his head.

"Now we're even." He grinned as he handed back Andre his phone who just shoved it forcibly back down into his pocket.

"How'd you find out?"

"Tori; she told me by accident."

"Yeah, uh huh, you two hung out all weekend; secrets were bound to pop out!" If it hadn't been for the smile on his face Beck would have sworn he was being serious.

"You keep them pictures to yourself you can go away whenever you want, no alibi needed."

"Deal." Andre said, thrusting his hand out for a shake in which Beck fully obliged.

"You two did look cute in that pic together, though." Beck just rolled his eyes as he turned to leave; class would be starting in a few minutes. Behind him Andre followed, a smug smile on his features.

"Just out of curiosity," he asked quickly, "if Jade wasn't in the picture, would you seriously get with Tori?"

"What do you mean?" Beck asked over his shoulder. "Did you see Jade anywhere in those pictures of yours?" At this Andre stopped dead in his tracks, his book falling from his hands.

Beck smiled as he continued on to class.

He sure as hell didn't see Jade anywhere.

* * *

Once again I'm sorry for the late update, but please keep in mind I'm back in school with a tight schedule so please bear with me! I'll try to post longer chapters, but I won't make any promises.

Many, many, MANY thanks for all the awesome reviews/comments, they're the ultimate pick-me-up when my days are suckish. Keep them coming, they're what I LOVE to get! Much love, Fluff~


	6. Wednesday

_Yeah, so, not quite sure what the hell happened here; there's just been so much stuff going on this kinda got placed on the backburner, so sorry for that!_

_There will probably be only 2 or 3 more chapters of this until it's over, so just read this: updates are pretty much fair game, I can't give any definites. Just check in regularly, that's all I ask! _

_***Thanks for all the awesome reviews and comments that are still coming in begging for more; I absolutely love that stuff, so keep it coming! ***_

**_..:.._**

**When I Look At You**

**Chapter 6 ~ Wednesday**

**Tori**

Thank god it was a Panini day, otherwise she would have screamed.

Though not an avid fan of the sandwich she had to admit that it was good enough to distract every other person in the school, which in itself was a blessing.

Who knew her savior was going to be edible!

Sighing, Tori leaned back against her locker as the rest of the student body rushed past and towards the cafeteria; there was bound to be a traffic jam somewhere along the line. Pressing even closer to the metal wall behind her she hugged her bag to her chest as even a few teachers scampered by, their orderly fashions completely thrown to the side in favor of a food crazed rush.

Now that was just ridiculous.

Looking both ways down the hall and main area of the school, she found herself alone and relished in the silence of it all.

Today was just not her day.

It had all pretty much started with Sikowitz's class; the madman having them do dramatic improv sketches with the opposing sex…and guess who her partner was.

Yup.

Beck.

That she could handle; it was their sketch that totally frosted her fruit loops.

Together they had to act out the gruesome tale of two lovers kept apart by their significant others who were both oblivious to their affair. They were required to hug, comfort, and even slow dance with each other across the stage.

Talk about irony.

It was only mere milliseconds after they were done that she excused herself from class with the complaints of cramps, too worked up to worry about the collective gasp from the class as she admitted her fake female problems. Sikowitz firmly shoo-ed her out of class as Andre sent her a sympathetic look, obvious concern on his face as she practically ran out the door.

She didn't stick around long enough to see how Beck reacted.

Ever since then, for at least the past hour or so, she paced back and forth through the main foyer of the school, her head whirling with thoughts at her current predicament.

She really was making too much out of this whole situation; assigning the greatest cosmic significance to the smallest thing that didn't even matter.

Shaking her head she sighed as the last few Panini fighters scrambled by before sliding down the lockers to ball up on the ground, knowing full well someone was bound to come across her.

Oh well.

She'd just tell them she was violently PMS-ing and they'd shoot off like a rocket, no doubt about it.

With the lie fresh and ready in her mind she listened as the official lunch bell sang out and classroom doors exploded open with the Panini lovers who couldn't make it free in time. Running a hand through her hair she watched the new swarm flutter pass before she was once again alone with the comfortable silence of the hall, something she had come to know as friend in her past hour of pacing trenches in the floor.

Resting her head forward on her knees she tried once again to figure out a way to get out of the problem she was in – if it could even be called that. Frowning, she sighed as she felt a presence slide down beside her and looked up, knowing it full well to be Andre coming to her rescue.

"Hey."

"Beck!" She exclaimed with confusion and shock evident on her face as she took in the easy grin of the dark haired boy.

"You weren't at the nurse's office or at lunch, so I figured I'd find you here." He said with a shrug, his grin growing wider at her still confused features.

"Beck…no; you…you can't be here." She said shaking her head and slapping a hand across her eyes as though not being able to see him would make him go away.

"And why is that? It's a free hallway." Of all the days he had to seek her out; why today?

"It's just not a good time right now."

"PMS?"

"No!" She exclaimed suddenly, tearing her hand away to look at him. "It's…it's…"

"Us?" He asked, his voice low and calm though slightly deafening in the stillness of the hall.

"Yes. It's us," She admitted, looking down to her fidgeting hands, "what are we doing? What's going on?" Beck sighed at this and seemingly collected his thoughts, his face twisted up into the same knot of unknowing-ness she knew hers to be in.

"We're friends," he eventually said, "very good friends who enjoy each other's company."

"Really?" She couldn't help herself as she turned to look at him, her face incredulous at his apparently simple response.

"Very good friends don't spend the entire holiday weekend together doing things like kissing and hand holding or falling asleep together in ways that aren't friend appropriate!" She snapped, the seriousness of the situation finally getting the best of her. Looking away she huffed, just as confused and bothered as she was before.

And Beck really wasn't helping.

"I admit we were a little bit more than friends this weekend, but hey, that's between us; our little secret." He tried to reason only to make her mood plummet even more.

"So now I'm just some little secret you can shove underneath your bed?"

"I didn—"

"No, I'm sorry, I just…" Beating her head back against the lockers she welcomed the distraction of pain. "We can't do this anymore." She finished quietly, too scared to look over and meet Beck's eyes.

"Do what?" God; couldn't he just drop it?

"This," she said bringing up a finger to point back and forth between them, "we can't do stuff like this anymore."

"Talk? We can't talk anymore?" Was it just her or did he sound genuinely hurt?

Averting her gaze she pushed and pulled her way up from the floor, slipping the worn leather strap of her school bag over her slumped shoulder.

"I…I don't trust myself around you." She said quietly, looking everywhere but him. "I don't want anything to happen that either one of us will regret; I don't want to affect your relationship. I know Jade and I aren't close, but I don't think I could live with myself if…if we did something that hurt her. I'm sorry Beck." She explained softly, trying her hardest to hide her trembling lips and watering eyes. Shaking her head she backed away slowly until finally turning around and quickening her pace as she neared the front exit, her hands flying out on either side to push open the double doors for her escape.

She didn't even bother to look back.

She knew her dark haired boy would still be sitting there, glowing in the afternoon sun.

Today just wasn't her day.

* * *

**Beck**

"And where have you been?" Jade questioned before he could even slump down beside her at the lunch table. Shaking his head he quickly pulled a lie together in his head, something she would obviously buy.

"Some Slap staffers wanted to interview me; something about an editorial."

"Really? I didn't know they were doing one on you!" Looking up and across the table Beck practically melted Robbie with his glare, the fro haired boy too shocked at this sudden action to even respond with his puppet. With the slightest twist of his head Beck signaled to just drop the conversation, something Andre obviously picked up on as he quickly distracted Robbie with some incessant chatter.

"They sure do love writing about you, but then again you are the best actor in school." Jade said with a nudge to his arm as she picked up the other uneaten half of her Panini and rotated it in her hands.

"Isn't this like the third time in four weeks?" She asked before biting in, her cheeks unattractively bulging out as she tried to consume as much as possible.

God she was a sandwich whore.

Shaking his head Beck shrugged as he picked at his own sushi tray, the various chunks of fish and rice no longer as appetizing as they had been when he bought them. Pushing them away he ran a hand through his hair and sighed, his cheeks puffing out at the action. Looking up he found Andre eyeing him from across the table, the boy still distracting Robbie from the larger issue at hand.

"You! Andrew!" Looking past the dread locked head before him Beck saw Trina's form slowly emerging from the mass of people packed lunch tables, her eyes focused in on Andre.

It was amazing how she still couldn't get his name right.

"It's Andre." The boy in question stated as he turned to meet Tori's sister.

"Whatever!" She snapped, waving him off with a flick of her hand. "I need a ride home; I refuse to take the bus."

"Why? You have a car."

"Yeah, well, apparently not; Tori took it and left, you know why?" At this Andre turned slightly towards Beck, an eyebrow quirked slightly in question.

"She left before lunch," He lied smoothly, "something about cramps or some other female problem."

"Great! She couldn't even tell me!" Trina huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked expectantly at their lunch table as if expecting some kind of sympathy.

"Yeah, uh, sorry." Andre mumbled out as he turned back to his plate of pizza, most likely thinking she'd go away if ignored.

"No matter, you can give me a ride home. Bye!"

"Nobody likes you!" Jade yelled out after her though the words were wasted on the brunette as she forced through the masses of people. "God she's annoying." She added as she shook her head and continued to eat her lunch. Beck smiled weakly in agreement, completely aware of Andre's drilling gaze from across the table despite the fact he was trying his damndest to avoid him.

Minutes later the bell rang, effectively causing students to scatter for their next to last classes before the end of the day. Jade left her trash on the table for him to throw away as she reached up to give him a small nip on the lip, a gesture he only returned half heartedly.

Lagging behind he gathered his girlfriend's mess and fell in step with Andre as they made their way over to the trash bins and then out to the parking lot where they both continued to climb into Beck's car.

"So what really happened with Tori?" Andre asked as soon as they were out of the parking lot and well on their way into town

"She basically said we couldn't be friends anymore." He summarized, a frown tugging down his handsome features.

"That's it? No big or fiery explosions?" Andre asked incredulously from the passenger seat, watching his friend closely for any hidden facial messages.

"She just doesn't trust herself around me; doesn't want to hurt Jade."

"At least she's doing something about it; trying to fix it. You just keep messing around man, you need to make up your mind; you can't just keep floating around, ya know?" Andre reasoned, leaning forward as to better see Beck's face.

"I know, it's just I don't know what to do." The dark haired boy admitted with a shake of his head. "It's just a mess."

"Well let's start off with the simple stuff: do you still like Jade?" Beck's frown deepened at this as he stared out at the road, a look of deep concentration on his face.

"No…I don't think so."

"Well that isn't going to cut it, now is it?"

"No. I guess I don't anymore; we've just grown apart I guess. She wants a more physical relationship and I…well I'd like to sit down and talk every now and then."

"Good, so Jade's out." Andre said sitting back with an arm hanging out the window. "And now I can show you this." He continued as he pulled his phone from his pocket and messed with the screen. Seconds later he was holding it out for the driver to see, an unreadable expression on his face.

"What exactly am I looking at?" Beck questioned as he briefly squinted at the small screen before looking back towards the road.

"What you're looking is grounds for a break up."

"Really now?"

"Yes." At this Beck pulled off into a random gas station parking lot and pulled the phone from Andre's hand.

Examining the picture even closer he realized that what he was looking at was a picture of Jade with some unidentified stranger who had his arms wrapped around her waist. Her blue and black hair was pushed to the side as she looked up at the person behind her, a very un-Jadish smile on her face.

"Where'd you get this?" Beck questioned, looking up to meet Andre's still unreadable expression.

"A friend of mine sent it to me last night; they were at some party over the weekend and saw Jade there with their cousin. I don't know who that guy is, but apparently he knows Jade pretty well."

"So you don't know who this guy is at all?" He continued to question, pointing at the screen for emphasis.

"No clue," was the honest reply, "all I do know is that he's supposed to be coming down to visit some family today."

"Huh." Beck mumbled as he handed the small cellular device back to his friend, an odd little smile on his face as a plan formulated in his mind.

"Guess I'll see if Jade wants to go to a movie tonight." He grinned as he looked over to his partner in crime still shaking his head in disbelief at his words.

"Most guys would freak if their girl was caught cheating on him." The dread locked boy stated as he quirked his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Well you forget; I'm not most guys." Beck's grin deepened as he started the car and backed out, directing them back towards the school. "When you've suffered through as much hell as I have you'd do anything to get rid of the devil himself."

Andre only laughed as Beck pulled on his rhinestone encrusted shades and relaxed in his seat.

That bitch was going down.

* * *

_Thanks again for all the reviews and comments still coming in; I love opening a full mailbox! You all are greatly appreciated and definitely keep me on my toes! ~ Much love, Fluff ;)_


	7. Thursday

_[Insert Epic music of your choice here] So here we go! Another chapter that is amazingly short (to me, that is)! Sorry about that, but there's a reason and that reason is expressed in an **Author's Note at the end**, so read that before reviewing/commenting about whatever. I'll know if you did or not by what you leave for me after reading! Ha! Gotcha! (Sorry, I'm a little delirious right now and am in a rare form, so just work with me here!)_

_Anywho, thanks again for reading and sticking around for so long; we're definitely nearing the end. Another chapter or two, maybe? Still not sure yet, but I guess we'll find out! _

**..:..**

**When I Look at You**

**Chapter 7 ~ Thursday**

**Tori**

Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum.

Run. Run. Run. Run.

Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum.

Tori was running.

Running from everything it seemed.

Then again maybe not.

She liked how the strenuous exercise made her muscles scream in both pain and pleasure; she loved pushing herself up hills and practically rolling down the other side in full force. The freedom of it all made her laugh as if she were hopped on some wonderful unknown drug yet to be found.

She was just high on life.

Or maybe it was all the endorphins from her running.

Yeah, maybe that was it; it had to be.

Looping around the cul-de-sac of her neighborhood she passed her house before exiting out onto the main street, hanging a left at the corner so as to divert over to the street behind her house. There they had pretty houses and clean cut lawns that made her imagination go crazy, something that was a welcomed distraction.

Only yesterday had she told Beck that, in a nutshell, they couldn't be friends anymore.

Or talk anymore.

Or even interact anymore for that matter.

Was it dramatic? Yes.

Excessive? Maybe.

Totally called for? Absolutely.

At least in her mind.

She sighed as she ran out into the middle of the street to avoid a nearby sprinkler, the water bouncing off the asphalt though still managing to hit her legs. It felt nice for a fleeting second until it warmed to her heightened body temperature and mixed with sweat, running down to wet the tops of her socks.

Some things were just too good to be true.

And she wasn't just talking about _The Weekend _(as she had dubbed it).

Granted, she enjoyed herself, immensely, but for her the only way out of it all was to simply sever ties where they needed to be severed. She definitely wasn't going to come clean about what really went on between her and Beck to Jade (maybe Andre, but that was pushing it), so why not just pretend the whole thing never happened.

There really was no evidence to frame her.

Just memories…and god were they nice.

Yesterday, sitting in the hall feeling so pitiful and out of fuel, Tori had ended her friendship (possible relationship?) with Beck. It had felt awful, dirty, rude, and just plain heart shattering. She had left him sitting there alone in the hall looking after her as she backed away, tears ready to fall from her eyes. It only took exactly one step through the hallowed entrance way of Hollywood Arts for her to realize that she had made the biggest mistake ever and began to regret everything she had said.

But that didn't matter.

Sure, she regretted it, but it was what needed to be done.

So that's what she did.

Taking the car and leaving Trina abandoned at school did make her feel slightly better, as did the extra large helping of Fro Yo (Tim was shocked at the size upgrade) she inhaled in a record three minutes. She could have done without the brain freeze, but the decadent mix of flavors was worth it. Returning home, however, did nothing to make her feel better…or maybe it did in one of those sadist kind if ways.

Trina was pissed to say the least.

Tori had passed Andre on the way into her neighborhood where he only saluted her before gunning it for the exit. Trina wasn't even inside when Tori pulled into the driveway, meaning the neighbors got a pretty good fireworks display upon Tori approaching her fuming sister. The younger sibling took it in stride though, owning up to her lack of communication and pure selfishness of taking the car without asking. Tori allowed her sister a decent five minute rant before finally shouldering around her and into the house, where the rest of the evening she bunkered down in her room, smiling slightly as Trina continued to rant and rave to their parents.

Then morning came where Tori got ready for school, said nothing to her sister as Trina drove them there, and then peeled out before Sikowitz's class so as not to see _him_ (it was too soon to face the aftermath).

And ever since then she'd been running.

Through town, down the beach, around the mall, through neighborhoods.

Everywhere, as if she could just magically out run everything from the past week of her life.

Frowning, Tori moved closer to the curb as the beeping of a car horn broke through the ear popping volume of her music. She put her hand up in the air to motion them to go around her in the plenty of road there was; there were two lanes after all. The car eventually passed, the driver a person unknown to her even though they waved as if they were old buddies.

Maybe she looked like someone they knew?

Shrugging this off she rounded another corner that would place her two streets over from hers in a neighborhood where the grass was always greener on the other side.

Literally.

Talk about quality fertilizer.

Just as Tori was staring in awe at the emerald hued lawns, a body collided with hers, sending both the jogger and attacker face first into the sidewalk.

"AAAIIIEEEEE!" Was all Tori could manage as foreign hands wrapped around her waist to prevent her from making impact and instead rolling them into the lush padding of a yard. Smacking violently at the hands and person behind her, Tori fought with a newly found burst of energy.

"Stranger danger! Stranger danger!" She yelled, hoping some yard wandering person would hear and come to her rescue.

"Chill out, man, jesus!" A voice said suddenly from behind her, causing Tori to cease all actions in confusion.

"Andre?" She asked, incredulous as to why her friend was randomly body-checking her while running.

"Please get off of me, you're smashing me in all the wrong places!" Still pumped with adrenaline, Tori scrambled off the boy and to the side, where she sat with elbows on her knees staring at the dreadlocked boy. Yanking an ear bud from her head she smacked at his arm.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Damn you run fast for a white girl." Was all the panting boy could manage as he rolled onto his back and massaged his stomach as though in labor with a child. Tori just shook her head at this before leaning back onto her arms and trying to control her beating pulse.

"You don't just tackle people like that." She stated after a while when it seemed Andre had regained himself from his extensive running.

"Well I had to talk to you."

"And calling or texting wouldn't have worked?"

"What can I say," Andre smiled from he was looking at her upside down, "I'm more of a face to face communication kind of guy."

"Yeah, no kidding. More like a football player, too."

"Really?" He asked, genuine hope on his face as Tori contemplated her answer.

"Well you can definitely tackle." Andre laughed, seemingly accepting this answer for now as he maneuvered into a sitting position across from the brunette.

"I'll keep that in mind." He joked, brushing grass from his shirt and lap.

"You do that."

"Really, though, I was looking for you."

"Why?"

"I have information." He practically whispered as he leaned in close with a hand shielding his mouth from view.

"Is it a threat to national security?" She whispered back, figuring she'd play along for the fun of it.

"Please, if it was do you think I'd be telling you?" She smacked his arm again at this, secretly enjoying how he made life so much more entertaining. "Nah, but info of another kind."

"Oh." Was all Tori could manage, her mind whirling with possibilities. What could be so important that it had Andre sprinting down the street after her? "Tell me, then." She said with a shrug, bracing herself for whatever he was about to spill.

"Jade's cheatin'."

Her jaw dropped.

"And I told Beck."

Her eyes widened.

"And he's breaking up with her as we speak."

"Wwwwwwhhhhhaaaaaaaa!" Was the only sound that would come out.

"I know."

"But…but…but…"

"I know."

"But…"

"I know."

"But…"

"I kn—"

"I know you know!" She snapped, falling back into the grass as an arm was thrown over her face.

"I thought you'd be happy!" Andre exclaimed, smacking her knee in emphasis.

"Why would I be happy that Jade's cheating on him?" She asked, her free hand flying around in the air with her words.

"Well you and Beck ca—"

"Nope! Nuh-uh! Don't even say it!" She said, rising from her position like a zombie from the grave. "Don't even think it."

"Why not?"

"Because…" She said, not too sure she wanted to re-hash yesterday's events out loud, "I broke up with him." Wow; that just didn't even sound right.

"You broke up with him." Andre stated, confusion on his face as Tori nodded weakly and picked at the seemingly award winning grass before her.

"Enlighten me; how do you break up with someone you're not really with?"

"You know what I mean!" She sighed, throwing her handful of greens at him.

"I told him we couldn't be friends anymore because I couldn't trust myself to be around him because I didn't want to mess up his relationship and stuff…I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to talk to me. I know I wouldn't."

"I did notice you checked out early yesterday…today too." He said, acknowledging her sudden disappearances from school. "Never pinned you down as the delinquent type." She smiled slightly at this, finally looking up to meet Andre's coffee colored gaze. He smiled back gently, his head cocked to side as sweat continued to pour down his forehead.

"I did what needed to be done. That's it."

"That's it?"

"Yup."

"But it's not."

"You annoy me." The boy laughed at this though she knew his words to be true.

This wasn't it.

"So…" She began, somewhat hating herself for giving in so easily to his informative words, "how do I fix everything then?"

"Don't ask me, I don't have anything broken." Tori rolled her eyes at this; that sarcasm of his was going to be the death of her.

"Fine, I'll figure it out myself." She stated, pushing herself up into a standing position and stretching out her cramped up muscles.

"You do that." Andre shrugged, looking up at her from his still seated position. She shook her head and smiled as she walked around him, patting his head as though he was a small puppy being rewarded for performing a trick.

"You might want to move." She suggested from where she now stood in the middle of the street, Andre's confused gaze looking back at her.

"Why?"

"No reason." She shrugged, idly distancing herself from him.

"Huh?"

"Bye!" She exclaimed, taking off down the street as the front sprinklers kicked on with full yard watering potential. She laughed all the way down the street as Andre's yells echoed after her.

Tori was going to fix what she had so carelessly broken.

One step at a time.

* * *

**Author Note: **By reading this note you will know two things:_ a) why I didn't do Beck & b) about the next update_. So here we go... ~ The reason Beck is not present in this one is because of the simple fact that I felt I could not do his break up with Jade justice. I tried (boy did I try!) but just couldn't produce anything I liked, so you (as the reader) get to use your imagination, so go crazy! I will say that bits of the break-up scenes I had written will appear in the next chapter, but not the whole thing. Feel free to insert your break up scene in a review/comment; I know you all are creative! 

**Secondly (and sadly) there will probably be only 1 or 2 more chapters**. I never intended for this to be a huge story, but a simple happening in the span of a few days (in this case a week). Expect a lengthy amount of time as I work out the final kinks so this story will be the best it can be. **_Time and patienece are greatly appreciated, as are reviews and comments._**

**Sorry for wasting time and space, I just needed to clear the air some. Thanks again and much love, Fluff ;)**


	8. Friday  A Week Later

_No more excuses or BS. Let's just finish this :)_

_..:.._

_When I Look at You_

_Chapter 8 ~ Friday_

**Beck**

There had been screaming.

A _lot_ of screaming.

So much so that his ears were still ringing as he pulled into the school parking lot and killed the engine while running a hand through his hair.

He was not ready for this.

Sinking down into the seat he sighed as he rubbed a hand across his face and winced slightly as a dull throb started up around his right eye.

Breaking up with Jade was bad for his health…actually for anyone's, really.

With fingers still laced around the wheel he tapped away idly as his mind wandered back to last night; how he had gone to Jade's house expecting a clean break.

Boy was he wrong.

Instead of Jade opening the door, Beck was instead greeted by a shirtless guy wearing nothing but boxers and the remnants of a whip cream bikini top.

Both boys had stared dumbfounded at one another.

Beck knew Jade was cheating, but this was just unexpected.

The other guy apparently thought so too.

"We're sorry; you have reached an automated voicemail. Please lea—"

"What the hell are you doing Sebastian?" Beck remembered stifling a chuckle: _Sebastian? _

Wow.

And he was human answering machine to top it off!

"Get back inside! What did I tell you about answering the door and phones?" Jade screeched as Beck saw her round the corner from the living room clad in _Sebastian's_ shirt.

She stopped dead upon seeing him there on her front porch.

"Beck…" She breathed, her abnormally pale skin paling to an almost unimaginable white not yet discovered.

"Jade." He had stated back, hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

"W-what are you doing here? You said you were helping your dad was his car!" Her words only proved to him how easily she had bought into the lie he had told mere hours before.

She'd apparently learned nothing about him through all their dating.

He never helped his dad with anything.

"We finished early, so I thought I'd come over…but you're apparently busy…" He tried his best to look like a wounded puppy.

"It's not what you think!" Jade had immediately scrambled to explain as she pushed past Sebastian (god, what a name!) to try and reason with him outside.

"It's alright, I've seen everything I need to," he'd responded, pulling his hands from his pockets to wave in front of him, "we're over." And with that he'd started to turn, only to be viciously pulled backwards.

That was unexpected.

"You're not even going to give me another chance? Look at how long we've dated! How much we've been through!"

"We've been together for two years, one of which you consistently broke up with me. And what _have_ we been through?" He'd calmly asked as he pried her fingers from his shirt. "You constantly screaming and bossing me around is hardly a relationship."

"But I can change! I did last time! I got you that dog, remember?" God, he was internally enjoying this.

"No, Tori got me the dog after you forced her to help you. She's the only reason I took you back."

"Really? And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what it means!" He had reasoned back with a shrug, trying as hard as he could to remain calm and neutral despite the ogling eyes of Jade's newest flavor and the said girl's glare.

"This whole thing is about Tori!" Jade had accused him as she thrusted a finger into his face, causing him to step back slightly. "You've always had a thing for her and now you're using _this_ as an excuse!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that _you're_ the one _cheating_ and _I'm_ the one breaking up with you _because_ of that." He remembered Jade screeching at him as he talked to her as though she was first grader.

It only pissed her off more.

"You knew I was cheating so you came here to prove it!" She'd raged, seemingly grasping at straws for what to do next.

"If I knew you were cheating I would have dumped you when I found out," he'd pointed out simply, "why would I wait until now?"

"Your logic pisses me off!" She had screamed with such fury that he didn't even see her fist flying at him until it was too late.

And that was how he, Beck Oliver, became a free man.

With simple logic and a conveniently well timed visit, he had tackled the beast in such a manner that she had no way of seeing it coming.

He could have done without the black eye, though, but it was a small price to pay.

Shaking his head as though erasing an Etch-A-Sketch, Beck pulled the keys from the ignition and started across the parking lot to school. He reared his head proudly, showcasing his ex-girlfriend's vengeance as though a battle scar.

And in some weird way it was.

"Ouch, man! That's gotta hurt." Andre sympathized as he fell into step with the young actor.

"It's not too bad; hurt a lot more last night."

"Did you put a steak on it?"

"No…I went for the more conventional ice pack."

"Hm…still equally effective!" The other boy said with a shrug as they both pushed through the main doors and progressed to their lockers.

"So how mad was she, like, on a scale one to ten?"

"A ten, definitely."

"Damn. You must have really got to her!"

"Well it wasn't hard," Beck slightly bragged as he twirled his combination into his lock, "Sebastian _was_ standing there behind her half naked."

"Wait, wait, wait…_Sebastian_? As in the crab from that mermaid movie?" Andre asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"Yeah," Beck grinned, "_Sebastian_." He still couldn't believe it.

Not that it was bad name or anything…but Jade and _Sebastian_?

It just didn't sound right.

"So what are you going to do now?" Andre continued to ask he pulled the proper books from his locker, while Beck just stood there and watched with a slight frown on his face.

He knew what he wanted to do; he just wasn't sure as to how to go about it.

"I don—" He admitted briefly before being abruptly cut off as he pulled open his locker door only to be met with a landslide of sand. Shuffling his feet in vain, he attempted to kick off as much grains as possible from his shoes and jean cuffs.

"What the…" Andre marveled as he rounded the small corner between them and took in the sight of the miniature desert before him. "Who…?" He asked, only to trail off as he watched Beck bend down to sift through the sand and scoop up a small piece of paper highly resembling a note.

"'_Can you believe it's been a week? How tides fly!'_" He read out, looking to the dread locked boy for some form of wisdom or enlightenment only to be met with an equally confused look.

"Tides?" Andre asked, once more looking down at the small pile of sand, completely missing the epiphany that shot across Beck's features. "Shouldn't it be 'time'?"

"No…" Beck mumbled as he thought, "sand…tides…the beach!" He explained, slapping Andre lightly on the shoulder. "Take notes for me in class, man, I have somewhere I have to be!" And with that he turned on his heel, completely ignoring the sand in his shoes and the throbbing in his eye from where he was smiling too much.

He was off to embrace his newly found freedom.

* * *

**Tori**

It wasn't as warm as she would have liked, but at least it was empty.

And it should be; it was the middle of the day!

Normal people were at work and school, learning and doing things; sticking to the routine of life.

But she, Tori Vega, was taking a chance.

A chance with Beck Oliver.

God she was nervous.

Putting the sand in his locker had been no easy feat; she was amazed that it had even worked. The stuff got anywhere and everywhere except where she wanted it to go, but after much planning and a bottle of water or two later, she had successfully made a small sand castle that would hopefully hold until Beck arrived at school.

And to top it off she had left a small note as the flag waving proudly above her structure.

But she was still nervous.

Looking down at the stack of small sized cups littering the towel next to her she wondered if eating that much Fro-Yo was a good idea. It did help ease the knot in her stomach, but then again she had done all that running yesterday.

Ever since last Friday her life had taken a turn for the crazy and unimaginable.

All with one little slap post, too.

Who'd have thunk it?

Running a hand nervously through her hair she surveyed the beach left and right and found that nothing had changed drastically in the last two hours that she had sat there. Some people had left, some had come, but for the most part the coast was devoid of any life save for the seagulls and other rats with wings.

She frowned as the knot in her stomach clenched tighter.

Would he come?

Would he understand the note?

Would he know it was from her?

The weight of it all was crushing Tori Vega.

With an out loud groan she fell backwards onto her towel, an arm thrown over her face in a vain attempt to block out the sun and endless blue sky above. She tried hard to focus on the positive, but doing something like that was hard when the future was impossible to foresee.

"Nnnnuuuhhhhhhh…" She moaned out, her words lost to the wind as it picked up slightly and whipped her lose hair around her neck and face. Moving her arm to brush it out of the way she glanced up to see a figure standing above her. Squinting into the sunlight directly above her she could barely make out any features of her visitor.

"Hey stranger." Screw features; all she needed was to hear his voice.

"Beck!" She smiled as she shot up into a sitting position and grabbed his awaiting hand to pull her up. He smiled back at her as he pulled her close into a hug, her arms looping around his neck to bring him closer than she had ever hugged him before. In her joy she rocked them back and forth slightly, her grip around him almost like that of a python.

He was smiling.

She could tell.

She was the one to pull away first, but he was the one to keep a hold of her hand, almost as though letting go would allow the wind to separate them.

"I wasn't sure you'd come." She admitted shyly, her gaze locked on their intertwined hands.

"I had to; someone needs to clean up the pile of sand in the hall." He teased gently as he gave her hand a slight squeeze.

"Pile of sand?" She exclaimed, looking up to meet his eye. "It was supposed to be a castle!"

"Guess it fell apart."

"Aw man!" She sighed, obviously mad that her brilliant plan had been shot to hell by the simple law of evaporation; she knew she should have added more water.

"I don't care, it's the thought that counts." Beck smiled, bringing her back from her thoughts to look at him.

"Well I'm glad I at least get brownie points for trying." She smiled with a shrug while idly wringing her hands together, not quite sure as to what to do next.

Beck apparently didn't know either.

"So…" He started them off after a few moments of awkward silence, "why'd you do it?"

Tori couldn't help but look up at him and smiled; he was just so easy to get along with.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said to you the other day; it wasn't really necessary and I think I just made myself too paranoid."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you apologizing?" Tori felt dumbfounded; did he not remember how she had ended their friends-only-and-nothing-more-though-she-wanted-it-to-be relationship only what, forty eight hours ago?

If that?

"I'm apologizing because I told you I didn't want to talk to you anymore or pretty much have anything else do with you?" He was joking, right?

"Well since it was our first fight I'm looking past that, so really there's no need to apologize. We're still working things out."

It was just the way he said it; so serious and matter-of-factish. Tori was left standing there speechless, her mouth slightly gaped open as she stared at the boy in front of her, her mind whirling into overdrive as she tried to make sense of his words.

"Beck?" She eventually managed to mumble out.

"Tori?" He asked back, still completely at ease as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Care to explain to me what you're talking about?"

"I thought it'd be obvious." He shrugged, his smug expression clearly telling her how much he was enjoying himself right now.

She frowned.

"Well…you're here, first of all." She reasoned, eyeing him with a slight glare.

"I am."

"And you don't want my apology."

"I don't." He nodded, affirming her words.

"Then…" She trailed off, not quite sure where she wanted to go, "what do you want?"

He smiled at this and shook his head, inky black hair flopping down slightly into his eyes.

"You." He stated simply, his lips blooming into a full smile rarely shown to others as Tori's heart stopped mid-beat. "I broke up with Jade, but then again you already knew that."

She could tell her mouth was gaping like that of a goldfish she use to have before it died, but she honestly couldn't help it.

"Andre said he saw you yesterday, said he told you." She continued to stare at him, still stuck on the fact that _he_ wanted _her_. "So I came to apologize."

Now that got her attention.

"Why do you get to apologize and I don't?" She asked incredulously, head cocking to the side as a manicured brow quirked high.

"I need to apologize because I've been ignoring what I've been feeling for you since we first met," Beck explained with a slightly embarrassed smile, "it wasn't fair to either of us."

"You've liked me since we first met?" She asked quietly, finally giving into the blush threatening to ruin her complexion.

"Yeah." The boy admitted somewhat sheepishly, causing Tori to smile.

"Why?" If her question caught him off guard he didn't show it, but then again he always had an answer for anything she asked him.

"Why?" He repeated as he tugged her closer and released her hand so as to grip at her waist. "Because when I look at you I see you looking back, like really seeing me. I'm not just some space of air colored up to look like a human being; you see me for me. You see _everything_." He smiled as he leaned his forehead gently against hers and relished in the feeling of her breath ghosting over his lips.

Beck Oliver thought he was going to die of happiness.

"Wow." Tori mumbled out, her voice flighty and pitchy and just oh-so-wonderful.

"Wow." He agreed, although he was slightly disappointed as the girl in his arms pulled away to look at him.

"Does this mean we can kiss now?" She asked, her face completely serious as she locked gazes with him. He smiled devilishly and seemed to ponder for a moment, much to her amusement. She gave him a playful smack on the arm before he roughly pulled her closer, her gasp puffing out against his cheek.

"Hell yeah it means we can kiss." He whispered huskily before leaning forwards and closing the already infinitely small gap between them.

Nothing had ever felt so right to either of them.

* * *

_And here we are folks; **THE END**. Thanks for all of you who stuck around in that very lengthy absence. I know I lost a lot of you, but to the ones who remained: THANK YOU! You're highly appreciated and very much loved. _

_For anyone wondering, this was heavily inspired by Miley Cyrus's 'When I Look at You' song. I don't even like her, but after having been forced to see the Last Song, this one song in particular just kinda stuck with me. _

**_And with my spring semester underway and summer coming up who knows what all I'll get into next, so keep a weathered out on the horizon; you never know what will wash up! Thanks again for everything! ~Fluff_**


End file.
